By Kim Sutton
In a small village of around three hundred people, Tessie Hutchinson becomes the village scapegoat. She isn’t the first, and because of tradition, she will not be the last. On a warm summer day at the end of June, the 27th to be exact, the citizens of the village gather for the traditional lottery. Although the villagers know that they all have a chance to become what is later revealed to be the town scapegoat, they gather dutifully in the town square around ten o’clock; however, Tessie is not there with her husband and children. Upon her late arrival her explanation, that she “[c]lean forgot what day it was,” says much about her repressed denial (Jackson). This day of tradition and importance for the village could not easily slip a person’s mind, why it does for Tessie shows the careless attitude towards her chances of becoming the scapegoat.
Author, Shirley Jackson, does not give the reader any indication that being chosen for the lottery has anything to do with an individual’s character or actions they all have a chance of becoming the sacrificial representative. However, she does portray Tessie in a way that makes her seem to be an acceptable scapegoat in the eyes of the villagers.
No one stands out as a scapegoat in the sense of the meaning that we find in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, where a scapegoat is defined as “a: one that bears the blame for others, b: one that is the object of irrational hostility.” Rene Girard’s theory of scapegoating, which starts with the idea that it is human nature to want what others have. This desire, referred to as “mimetic desire”, leads to conflict (Bailey 40). In order to avoid that conflict, a scapegoat is needed to prevent that happening. In a sense, sacrifice one for the good of all (Bailey 39). In “The Lottery”, we learn from Old Man Warner, that if a sacrifice is not made, the village will not have a good crop, “‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’” There is always been a lottery.” The village believes that in order to have a good crop, a sacrifice, by way of a human scapegoat, must be made (Jackson). It is the way it has always been, therefore stoning someone to death, for the good of all, is an acceptable practice.
Upon Tessie’s late arrival, and explanation of having “clean forgot,” along with her short conversation to Summers,, “thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie” to which she response “wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now, would you Joe?” (Jackson) shows that Tessie isn’t really concerned about her tardiness and that she puts as much importance on her dishes as she does on the lottery. This is not true for the other villagers as they leave work, and their farms to make sure they are at the drawing at the appropriate time. Tessie’s attitude shows an isolation of acceptance of what is going on around her.
Intellectualization of the lottery and all that it stands for is evident not only in the actions of the people but also in the way in which the lottery is carried out. It is viewed as being as common as the village square dances. It is held in the same area and as much of the original tradition that can be remembered is observed. Some members of the community remember chants and rituals that had now been forgotten, but the swearing-in of Mr. Summer's was still done by the postmaster and the villagers thought it was still important for him to speak to each person as they came forward to draw from the black box. Although not the original, a black box, rumored to have “been made with pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here” is still used (Jackson). The three-legged stool and even the act of stirring the papers inside the box is a tradition that is followed. According to Ted Bailey, “the black box, the three-legged stool, the toneless chant – harken back to the original ceremony and allow the villagers to contain the unfettered violence that would break out if they did not carry out the lottery (40). The lottery holds such “significance that the people involved must quit their daily work in order to take part in it” (Chen, 1025). All of these actions are important to the citizens of the village; therefore, it is easy to deduct that timeliness to the life-altering event would also be important.
Tessie’s attitude makes her stand out from the other villagers. Other citizens seem to be accepting and a bit reverent when gathering for a drawing that will affect their lives. As the men gathered, they spoke of farming and taxes and looked for their children. However, once the time for the lottery came close, the husbands "stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet, and they smiled rather than laughed.” Even the children in this small village “gather[ed] together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.” (Jackson). Tessie showing up late and joking about it is a way of making her seem as if the lottery is not as important to her, thus setting her apart from the rest of the villagers and making it unconsciously easier for the villagers to eventually accept her as their representative scapegoat.
As Tessie joins her husband and children in the front of the crowd, other villagers’ comments, “Here comes your, Missus, Hutchinson” as well as “Bill, she made it after all” brings up the question, is she always late (Jackson)? Are their voices, “just loud enough to be heard across the crowd” ) a projection of annoyance for Tessie’s carefree attitude(Jackson? One must question if even her family holds her in much regard, as they did leave her behind when they left for the lottery, not even informing her that they were headed off to the square, “Thought my old man was out back stacking wood,” “and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone…” (Jackson). Once again Jackson is setting Tessie apart from the rest of the villagers, isolating her just a little bit so that it will be that much easier to accept her as the scapegoat.
As the lottery moves forward, Tessie is eager to push her husband forward to draw for the family. “Get up there Bill,” urging him forward as those around her laugh, is once again a show of denial and repression (Jackson). She is not even considering the fact that she may be the scapegoat. Her actions also show that she is a willing participant in this barbaric tradition. That is until she is brought to a stark reality that it is someone in her family that will become the scapegoat.
As her situation sinks in, she tries hard to reverse her circumstances claiming that Bill wasn’t given enough time to choose. Trying to pull the other citizens into her realization, doesn’t work. “Be a good sport, Tessie,” says Mrs. Delacroix and “All of us took the same chance” is the only thing she hears from Mrs., Graves (Jackson). Tessie’s denial is taking shape. Normally a person would think that her concern would be for her family, however, it becomes apparent that her concern is only for herself as the family drawing begins. When Bill is asked about how many members will be drawing, Tessie tries to project the idea that her married daughter as well as her daughters’ husband, should take their chance with the family. Tessie’s character has to be questioned at this point. AsFuyu Chen points out in his analysis, "A Representative and a Scapegoat: Analysis of Tessie Hutchinson in The Lottery”, she is acting like a “frightened animal; but unlike the animal mother, the human mother does not always seek protection for her offspring. In fact, instead of giving her life for her children, Tessie prefers that they take their chances also...” (1024). This is proof that she only wants to increase her own chances. Tessie is making it easier and easier to accept her as the scapegoat.
Tessie reluctantly takes her chance at the drawing, along with the rest of the family. At this point, we see that she is not the only member of the family that hopes for self -preservation. As each member opens their slips of paper, they show their elation at not being chosen. When it is apparent that she is the one who has won the lottery, her denial of the situation turns to what she considers the unfairness of it.
Although Jackson, through showing some of Tessie’s flaws, has made it a bit easier to accept her as the scapegoat throughout the short story, it has to be questioned if she is really much different than any of the other villagers. Would have they acted in the same way if they had been chosen? All the villagers seem to support the lottery, they show up and participate. They willingly and aggressively stone Tessie, the representative scapegoat “Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” (Jackson). To do so, like Tessie they repress their emotions, they deny the reality of it and rationalize that it is for the good of the community. But is it really? Next year they will hold another lottery, there will be another scapegoat in which they will violently stone to death. A villager will be chosen to sacrifice their life for the good of the crops. Another community member will face the reality of becoming a scapegoat, fulfilling the roll that Tessie served for the village on the “clear and sunny” (Jackson) June morning.
Baily, Ted. "Sacred Violence in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery." British and American Studies, Vol 20 (2014): 37-42.
Chen, Fuyu. "A Representative and a Scapegoat: Analysis of Tessie Hutchinson in The Lottery." Theory & Practice in Language Studies 2.5. 2012.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The New Yorker. 26 June 1948.
"Scapegoat." Merriam-Webster.com. 2 December 2018. web.
Whittier, Gayle. "The Lottery" as Misogynist Parable." Women's Studies, Vol. 18 (1991): 353-366. Article.