The lottery is a form of gambling whereby tickets are sold for a chance to win a prize, typically cash. In its modern incarnation, it first emerged in the nineteen-sixties as states struggled to balance their budgets without raising taxes or cutting services. Unlike sales or income taxes, which are usually distributed to all taxpayers equally, lotteries offer governments the opportunity to bring in large sums of money from wealthy households while avoiding the stigma of taxation. As such, they were a “budgetary miracle,” Cohen writes, the one solution that politicians could count on to make the deficit disappear.
Although the town’s residents are clear-eyed about the odds and their irrational gambling behavior, they are still deeply committed to their tradition. They spend a substantial portion of their incomes on lottery tickets. And they are convinced that the lottery is God’s will. This demonstrates how irrational traditions can impose their will on people.
The story begins with Tessie Hutchinson washing her breakfast dishes, a task that she is unable to finish before the start of Lottery Day. In the story, Lottery Day is celebrated with a ceremony whereby the heads of families draw a slip from a box. If the head of a family draws a black spot, that household must draw again. As the heads of families draw their slips, there is banter among the villagers and an old man quotes a traditional rhyme: “Lottery in June/Corn be heavy soon.”