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In "The Lottery," how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordinary story with an ordinary town?

In "The Lottery," author Shirley Jackson uses descriptions of mundane details to make the village seem "normal." The entire first paragraph could be plucked out of this story and used to describe many small towns throughout the world. Re-read the beginning of the paragraph, without the bias of the story's plot, and relate it to somewhere you are familiar with.



"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock....."



By pointing out simple, relatable aspects like the weather and common buildings, Jackson gives her readers an air of comfort which makes the impending moral issues even more shocking.


In her nonchalant style of relating the horrifying reality of the lottery, Jackson also points out how easy it can be to blindly accept traditions. She is warning her audience that things are not always as they seem and that people should question the world around them.

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