Once upon a time there was a small village. In this village three hundred people happily farmed, played and went about their business. The children went to school while the men cut wood or cultivated the land and the women cooked and cleaned. Every summer, in June, each of the villagers took part in the traditional lottery draw and one villager was chosen for the prize: a stoning. In 1948, Shirley Jackson published this short story known as "The Lottery" in the New York Times. The plot of the story shocked readers across America when they learned about the horror that was happening in such a picturesque town. Jackson purposely set this tragic event in this innocent setting to emphasize the cruelty of humanity. Using her frightening short story, The Lottery, Shirley Jackson alarms readers with the ironic and suspenseful elements of a seemingly pleasant setting and vague characters to demonstrate the inhumanity of society. Jackson provides a specific date making the story believable but still ambiguous. , to demonstrate that this tragic tradition is plausible. Published in such a modern era as 1948, the story shocks readers because this cruel act seems too far from the “civilized behavior” of man (Friedman, Lenemaja 63). But this assumption demonstrates man's ignorance of his own ability to carry out this horrible practice; the ambiguity of the story's time period reveals that this could happen at any time and in any place. This June date provides readers with a point of reference for a moment in their lives, and critic Jennifer Hicks suggests that "one can imagine oneself in such an environment" (147). This realism is crucial to the portrayal of this horror story because it creates disbelief and shock once the ending is revealed (Brooks, Cleanth 30)....... middle of paper...... But the real question becomes , who will be next? Works Cited Brooks, Cleanth, and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding fiction. New York: Appleton. 1959. Print.Friedman, Lenemaja. Shirley Jackson. Boston: Twayne. 1975. Print. Gioia, Dana and R. S. Gwynn. The art of storytelling. New York: Pearson. 2006. Print.Griffin, Amy A. “Jackson's 'The Lottery'.” The Explicator 58 (1999): 44-45. Rpt. in Amy A. Griffin on tradition and violence. Bloom's major short story writers. Ed. Harold Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea, 2001. 43-44. Print.Hicks, Jennifer. Short stories for students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 146-48. Print.Yarmove, Jay A. “Jackson's 'The Lottery'.” The Explicator 52 (1994): 234-44. Rpt. in Jay A. Yormove on symbolism in history. Bloom's major short story writers. Ed. Harold Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea, 2001. 41-42. Press.