Jackson

"'Some places have already quit lotteries,' Mrs. Adams said.
 'Nothing but trouble in that,' Old Man Warner said stoutly."  (p. 268)

While reading this entire short story, I kept feeling an eerie vibe that something really bad was going to happen.  Actually, this story is extremely similar to The Hunger Games.  In both stories, a drawing is held in the town - in one, the drawing is referred to as "the lottery."  This name is extremely deceiving because I pretty much automatically assumed that a lottery would produce a negative outcome.  In The Hunger Games, a drawing is held every year to choose "tributes" from each district.  Basically, these tributes are supposed to fight to the death in order to keep the districts from rebelling against the Capital.  In both drawings, there is a traditional element and fatal outcomes.  The drawings are repeated continuously in order to keep order and enforce tradition.  In the excerpt above, Old Man Warner warns Mrs. Adams of the danger in living without these lotteries.  This is ironic because the lottery causes so much stress and chaos in every family.  This small town is so traditional that they can not even rid themselves of a horrible act.  Without change, no progression can occur.

Here is the trailer for the upcoming Hunger Games movie!!!  I am so excited :)