In the story called “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, Tessie Hutchinson is one of the most interesting characters for me. The story happened a long time ago, and tradition is a key word to understand the narration. Lotteries are usually related to good things, such as wining cash prizes, or material objects. However, in this short story the lottery represents a sacrifice in name of a ritual.

Tessie Hutchinson is the one who gets sacrificed. The name “Hutchinson has a historical background, it was a name of one of the Christian leaders in the United States; Anne Hutchinson. In 1636 Anne Hutchinson was banished from the Massachusetts Colony accused of heresy. Years later, she moved to New York where Indians massacred her. In my opinion, by borrowing Anne’s surname, Shirley Jackson, compares her character's fate with the fate of the historical Anne Hutchinson.

In addition, Tessie Hutchinson apparently seemed not to take the ritual too seriously. Tessie arrived late for the lottery and tried to make a joke out of it. When Tessie was chosen she tried to point out the unfairness of the lottery. She is actually speaking out what the others have not dared to, just like Anne when she rejected the ideas of the church and the community, and preached her own beliefs. They both fought religious rules with little hope that someone would speak in their defense. In stead they were both "tried," and ended up being slaughtered.

The tradition of the lottery appears so natural, so inevitable, to its participants that they cannot imagine protesting against it. It seems like a sin against the institution of the lottery rather than the understandable pleas of a woman who doesn't want to die. After Tessie many others died, but this story make us analyze, and think about what our reaction would be in this situation. Would we speak out for ourselves, or just understand that that’s the way it is?

By Paula Peres