Friends and family are everything, therefore the thought of their betrayal is heartbreaking. Betrayal and deception is exactly what Tessie Hutchinson is shown in the face of tragedy. Tessie Hutchinson is a strong willed, opinionated, and complex character who despite tradition opposes the grueling ritual, that ends up taking her life. The ritual is a depressing event in which one person will be raffled off for being sacrificed. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson portrays the townspeople as conformists through their blind loyalty to the tradition of the ritual, despite the fear it ignites in them. This is most obvious through Tessie’s loyalty until she is the “winner”, Bill Hutchinson’s betrayal of his wife, and the townspeople stoning their
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This has gone on for Tessie’s entire life, and she’s never had any issue with it. That is until she’s chosen. Tessie’s hypocrisy is evident when she says “‘It isn’t fair’”(Jackson 8), as the townspeople begin throwing stones upon her. Although Tessie shows promising progression towards tearing down the questionable ceremony, the idea that Tessie didn’t think twice about supporting the practice until she had to deal with it head on undermines the advancement. Logically Tessie should be excited about facing “the honor” of being chosen since, “What is about to happen to her is, of course, perfectly fair and right by the logic that has guided her life up to that moment.Tessie has, like the rest of the town, steadfastly refused to imagine the lottery from the victim's point of view until forced to” (Cleveland). These quotes point out that Tessie is completely content with the tradition before she’s picked. Once she’s been chosen, suddenly it isn’t fair. Although it is obvious the tradition is unfair and brutal, it’s extremely hypocritical for Tessie to defy it only once she’s been selected. Once one becomes aware of their fate, the allusion of the tradition …show more content…
There is no loyalty and mercy when it comes to the ritual of the lottery, only abandonment and betrayal. It does not matter how close you are to the victim, you are expected to throw a stone from “The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready. Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar” (Jackson 8). Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Dunbar are Tessie’s closest friends and neighbors, but as soon as the black dot is revealed all friendship disappears. Betrayal is overwhelming when “everyone in the town turns against her-children, men, other women invested in the system that sustains them-does the reader become aware that this is a ritual stoning of a scapegoat who can depend on no one: not her daughter, not her husband, not even her little boy Davy, who picks up an extraordinarily large rock to throw at her” (Beetz 276) Despite the fact that Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie are best friends, once Tessie is chosen a flip switches Suddenly Tessie is not a friendly neighbor, instead she is someone with a means to an
This has gone on for Tessie’s entire life, and she’s never had any issue with it. That is until she’s chosen. Tessie’s hypocrisy is evident when she says “‘It isn’t fair’”(Jackson 8), as the townspeople begin throwing stones upon her. Although Tessie shows promising progression towards tearing down the questionable ceremony, the idea that Tessie didn’t think twice about supporting the practice until she had to deal with it head on undermines the advancement. Logically Tessie should be excited about facing “the honor” of being chosen since, “What is about to happen to her is, of course, perfectly fair and right by the logic that has guided her life up to that moment.Tessie has, like the rest of the town, steadfastly refused to imagine the lottery from the victim's point of view until forced to” (Cleveland). These quotes point out that Tessie is completely content with the tradition before she’s picked. Once she’s been chosen, suddenly it isn’t fair. Although it is obvious the tradition is unfair and brutal, it’s extremely hypocritical for Tessie to defy it only once she’s been selected. Once one becomes aware of their fate, the allusion of the tradition …show more content…
There is no loyalty and mercy when it comes to the ritual of the lottery, only abandonment and betrayal. It does not matter how close you are to the victim, you are expected to throw a stone from “The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready. Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar” (Jackson 8). Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Dunbar are Tessie’s closest friends and neighbors, but as soon as the black dot is revealed all friendship disappears. Betrayal is overwhelming when “everyone in the town turns against her-children, men, other women invested in the system that sustains them-does the reader become aware that this is a ritual stoning of a scapegoat who can depend on no one: not her daughter, not her husband, not even her little boy Davy, who picks up an extraordinarily large rock to throw at her” (Beetz 276) Despite the fact that Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie are best friends, once Tessie is chosen a flip switches Suddenly Tessie is not a friendly neighbor, instead she is someone with a means to an