The short story that I read is called "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and was published

on the 26th of June in 1948. Shirley was an American writer that was mostly known for
her works of mystery and horror. She wrote the famously known novel, now series, "The
Haunting of Hill House" (Wikipedia contributors, 2023).

"The Lottery" is about an annual ritual that seems to take place once every year on the
same day and the entire town has to take part in it - there were only a total of 300
people. According to Old Man Warner, if the lottery is not drawn people will perish
because the crops will fail and they will go hungry as a result. He thinks that it is far more
preferable for one individual to be selected and sacrificed for the good of society as a
whole - Old Man Warner believing it to be "fair" as someone is chosen randomly
(Jackson, 1948).

In the very beginning, Bill Hutchinson had drawn the marked paper. The marked paper
indicated that someone from within Bill's family had to be chosen next. So what happens
is, whoever draws the paper that is marked this time round will be "sacrificed." There are
five people within Bill's family and the significance of these little kids creating a stone
pyramid at the story's commencement is now more apparent than ever. In the end,
Tessie, Bill's wife, got the marked paper and this is when the entire town starts hauling
stones at her, ignoring her cries completely and stoning her to death (Jackson, 1948).

I think what this story signifies is that following meaningless tradition isn't always in your
best interest and can lead to serious consequences. Not every tradition is worth
sacrificing for. Sometimes it's good to ask questions or leave before your fate is in others
hands. The box used to draw each piece of paper from is also black in colour and I think
it's got to do with death. I think this story was leaving behind subliminal messages or
correlations linked to the outcome of the story. I definitely think it's worth reading
because you can easily be fooled into thinking you're reading a standard short story that
has no traces of horror in it, unless you're paying seriously close attention. It has a
build-up with an unexpected plot twist that almost comes hurtling towards you with no
warning.

References:

Jackson, S. (1948). The Lottery.

http://web1.nbed.nb.ca/sites/ASD-S/1820/J%20Johnston/The_Lottery_with_questions_S
hirley_Jackson.pdf

Wikipedia contributors. (2023). Shirley Jackson. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Jackson