THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson - ALTERNATE ENDING

Zanini.
After that, there was a long pause, a breathless pause, until Mr. Summers, holding his
slip of paper in the air, said, All right, fellows. For a minute no one moved, and then
all the slips of paper were opened. The women began to speak at once wondering
Who is it?, Whos got it?
Suddenly, someone started laughing loudly. The whole village turned round to see
who was the rude man that had laughed in such a tense moment. It was Old Man
Warner. Everyone got quiet without really knowing how to react. He exclaimed with
joy After seventy seven years, I finally got it! I am the winner this year! I got it! He
was surprisingly very happy and no-one really understood the reason for all this
excitement at first. He got up on stage without even having to wait for Mr. Summers
order.
Up there, he kept on screaming and laughing with more energy than anyone had
ever seen on him. He was happy. It seemed as if he had been dreaming about this
day for ages. Mr. Summers finally managed to say what he wanted: Well everyone,
up until now everything has been done pretty fast, which is great. Lets start with the
second part of the lottery. We all know you, Old Man Warner, but it is mandatory to
ask this question: Do you have any family members? Warner answered immediately:
No! No wife anymore and no children at all. Was that for the second draw? To what
Mr. Summers replied Yes, it was. Which means that, since you are the only member
left of your family, we dont need to make the second draw. Lets finish with this
quickly. Im sorry Warner
Oh, please dont be sorry! Im 100% ready for whatever comes now! Im not scared
at all and its actually an honor for me to be here! Come closer my friends! And
begin with the stones and rocks as soon as you can! said Warner.
Little by little the villagers started to move and, while doing so, they looked at each
other. They all had the same strange feeling, as if something big was going to
happen that day. They could feel it in the air and it smelled of revolution. Everyone
had picked his stones already.

Any last words Old Man? asked Summers with pity.

Oh! Yes sure! I couldnt be happier to die in this way. Thank you all for giving me
such an honorable death, and Im sure that this beautiful tradition wont die with me.
But he couldnt have been more wrong. Men, women, old, young Everyone
contributed to drown Warner under the rocks. It wasnt just killing the old man. It
meant a lot more. It meant the end of the lottery that everyone feared. With the old
man, a whole era with other traditions and values was dying. To top it off, they all
went to the black wooden box and broke it into pieces. That night, they used the
remains of the box and the slips of paper to build a bonfire and celebrate. They were
finally free from that oppressing tradition.

Jan Bartomeu Frias

Mediterrnia A