The Dark Lottery

a small, seemingly ordinary village that gathers each year for a long-standing tradition

known simply as the lottery. The townspeople assemble in the square on a warm

summer morning, behaving casually and cheerfully, which creates an atmosphere of normalcy.

The ritual involves selecting slips of paper from a black box. At first,

the head of each household draws; the family that receives the marked slip must then draw

again among themselves. This time, Tessie Hutchinson draws the marked slip.

instead of winning the “winner” of the lottery is not rewarded but stoned to death by the

community—including her own family.