By adminsikkimeducationA lottery is an arrangement in which prizes are allocated by a process that relies wholly on chance. This is true even if there are multiple stages to the arrangement, or if later stages involve skill.
Most lotteries require a pool of tickets or their counterfoils from which winners are selected, and there must be some mechanism for thoroughly mixing the tickets or symbols to ensure that chance determines the winnings. In practice, this is usually done by shaking or tossing the tickets or using some other mechanical method. Computers have increasingly been used for this purpose, as they can store information about large numbers of tickets and generate random combinations of symbols.
Many modern lotteries also allow entrants to mark a box or section on the playslip to indicate that they accept whatever set of numbers the computer picks for them. This is a way to make the game more fair for those who do not want to select their own numbers. The computers will still use randomness to select the numbers, but they will choose from a much larger pool than would be possible with a manual selection procedure.
The story in this article takes place in a small American village where tradition and custom are very important to the local population. The events depicted in the short story seem to condemn humankind’s hypocrisy and evil nature. The villagers “greeted each other and exchanged bits of gossip, and handled each other without a flinch of sympathy” (Shirley 281). The family theme in the story suggests that Jackson is pointing out how people behave unkindly to one another, in conformity with cultural norms and beliefs, for selfish reasons.