The Lottery

By: Shirley Jackson

Narrator: The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny with the fresh warmth of a full summer day…
the flowers was blooming profusely and the grass was richly green.

The children assemble first, they gather and eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the
square and guarded it.

Soon, the people began to gather, they stood together away from the pile of stones in the corner, and
their jokes were quite and they smiled rather than laugh. They greeted one other and exchanges bit of
gossips.

Mr. Summers: little late today folks!

Mr. Summers arrived carrying a black wooden box along with the post master Mr. Graves carrying a
three legged stool. The stool then was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black
box down on it.

Mr. Summers: some of you fellows want to give me a hand? (There was a hesitation before two men
came forward to hold the box steady on the stool while Mr. Summers stirred up the papers inside it.

Tessie: I almost forgot what day it was

Mrs. Delacroix: huh? For real Tessie! (whispers with a small laugh sound)

Tessie: thought my old man was out back stacking wood, then I looked out the window and the kids was
gone, then I remembered it was the 27th and came a running (then she dried her hand in her apron)

Mrs. Delacroix: hahaha! You are just in time though! There’s still talking away up there.

Some from the crowd: Here comes your Mrs. Hutchinson, Bill (Tessie then reach to her husband and
stood beside him)

(Mr. Summers who had been waiting noticed her)

Mr. Summers: thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie.”

Tessie: wouldn’t have me leave m’ dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe? (she said grinning)

Mr. Summers: well now, guess we better get started, get this over, so’s we could go back to work,
anybody ain’t here?

Crowd: Dunbar, yeah! I think its Dunbar isn’t here,”

Mr. Summers: Clyde Dunbar, right! He broke his leg hasn’t he? Who’s drawing for him?

Mrs. Dunbar: me, I guess,”

Mr. Summers: don’t you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey?”
Mrs. Dunbar: Horace’s not but sixteen yet,” guess I gotta fill in for the old man this year.”

Mr. Summers: well, guess that’s everyone.

Narrator: a sudden hush fell on the crowd as Mr. Summers cleared his throat and started the
instruction, he then told the villagers the flow of the lottery even though they knew it already.

Mr. Summers looked at the list and….

Mr. Summers: all ready?

Then he started to call the names of the head of the family in alphabetical order…

Mr. Summers: Adams… Allen… Bentham Mr. graves….

Lastly, Mr. Hutchinson.

Women (crowd) whispering (who is it? Who’s got? It is the Dunbar? It is the Watson?

Crowd: It’s Hutchinson. It’s Bill. Bill Hutchinson’s got it.”

Tessie: you didn’t give him enough time to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair (raised
voice)

Mrs. Delacroix: be a good sport Tessie!

Mrs. Graves: all of us took the same chance.”

Tessie: No, it didn’t, I saw it.

Bill: shut up, Tessie!

Mr. Summers: well, everyone, that was done pretty fast, and now we’ve got to be hurrying a little more
to get done in time”

Mr. Summers: Bill, you draw for the Hutchinson family. You got any other households in the
Hutchinson?

Tessie: there’s Don and Eva, make them take their chance!” (yelled)

Mr. Summers: Daughters draw with their husbands families Tessie, you that as well as anyone else

Tessie: it wasn’t fair

Bill: I guess not Joe,” my daughter draws with her husband’s family. That’s only fair. And I’ve got no
other family except the kids.

Mr. Summers: Then as far drawing for families is concerned, it’s you” and as far as drawing for
households is concerned, that’s you too. Right?

Bill: right!

Mr. Summers: How many kids Bill?

Bill: three,” there’s Bill, Jr., and Nancy, little Dave. Tessie and me.
Mr. Summers: all right, then,” Harry, you got their tickets back? (Mr. Graves nodded and held up the
slips of paper)

Mr. Summers: put them in the box, then,” take Bill’s and put it in.”

Tessie: I think we ought to start over, I tell you it wasn’t fair. You didn’t give him time to choose.
Everybody. Saw. That.

Tessie: Listen, everybody,” (she say to the people around her)

Mr. Summers: Ready Bill? (He glance around at his wife and children then nodded)

Mr. Summers: remember, take one slips and keep them folded until each person has taken one. Harry,
help little Dave….Nancy next……. Bill Jr……Tessie (she snatched a paper out) Bill…..

(Crowd was quite then a girl whispers): I hope it’s not Nancy.

Old man Warner: it’s not the way it used to be”. People ain’t the way they used to be.”

Mr. Summers: all right, open the papers”.

(They all open the paper which was blank except…)

Mr. Summers: It’s Tessie! Show us her paper Bill.”

Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand which has black spot
on it. Bill Hutchinson held it up and there was a stir in the crowd.

Mr. Summers: all right, Folks,” Let’s finish this quickly.”

Narrator: although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still
remembered to use stones. The villagers went to the pile of stones the boys had made earlier was
ready: there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper from the box. Mrs. Delacroix
selected a stone so large that she had to pick it up with both hands.

Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately
as the villagers move in on her

Tessie: it isn’t fair, it isn’t right”.

“THE END”