Some may read “The Lottery” as a work of horror fiction and just that.  Small town horror tales are few by comparison to other kinds of horror, but they are not uncommon.  However, I propose that “The Lottery” is, in fact, more of an exploration of human nature as opposed to just a fun twist-ending story.  Hannah Arendt, a journalist from The New Yorker, touched on the concept that under the right circumstances, anyone can become “evil” or by our standards, immoral.  In her case, she was sent to report on the prosecution of a Nazi, Adolf Eichmann, whose argument was that he never did anything wrong; he was just following orders.  To give you peace of mind, Eichmann did receive the death penalty many times over.

So let’s push this idea of obedience a little further.  To the small town, their whole identity hinged on the tradition of the lottery ceremony where one person was drawn and stoned to death by the rest of the town.  Everyone took part in it; everyone accepted it.  A discussion took place between two members of the town in which one mentioned that some of the neighboring towns have done away with the ceremony, but the other states, “There has always been a lottery.”  There was no possible way they were going to get rid of it.  At the end of the story, Tessie Hutchinson ended up being picked to die.  This clearly upset her, as she “held her hands out desperately” when the villagers readied their rocks.  However, she never resisted nor refuted the tradition itself.  How come?  It is wrong to murder, is it not?  In any form of blind obedience, whether it be tradition, orders, or duty, morals become something of an afterthought–if a thought at all.  People were naturally made to need a guiding force.  For Eichmann, his choice was clear: serve Germany, and obey the Führer.  To him, he had no choice, and the blame fell on his superiors.  Some may sympathize with his idea that as long as you are just following orders, the blame is not on you; it is not your fault.  There is the mentality of “Well, they made me!”  There is no doubt that the townsfolk in “The Lottery” knew they were murdering an innocent person.  But there had always been a lottery.  Without it, they were nothing more than savage beasts without order.  Therein is the cause for wonder.  Can anyone be convinced and convicted so wholly that they would really kill another human being and have no remorse?