Foreals

Collective Mentality[edit source]

The collective mentality, also referred to as mob mentality, can be defined as "the behavioral tendency of people (or other social animals) to act in unison with the group of which they are a part. This is an evolutionary adaptation that provides the mechanism for collective intelligence, but also explains how morally reprehensible consensus can form. Behaviors range from gang rapes and beatings to the extermination of an entire people group."[6] In the case of "The Lottery," the collective mentality is a theme that is represented directly as one of the characters in the story, Tessie Hutchinson, is subjected to a series of brutal bludgeonings from the other members of her town during an annual human sacrifice ritual.

In the story, one of the characters, Mrs. Delacroix, is a personal friend of Tessie Hutchinson, yet participates in the throwing of stones at Tessie. This behavior can be explained by the definition of the collective mentality: "When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness. When people deindividuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity... which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone." [7] Because of the psychological process that individuals experience during these situations, it is possible for a close friend to participate in behavior such as the sacrifice of a friend, if there is enough pressure from peers. Thus, Mrs. Delacroix goes from chatting with her friend Tessie to helping kill her in only a short time.

Themes[edit source]
RitualA ritual is a ceremony performed in accordance with tradition. The "lottery" of Jackson's story is a human sacrifice ritual where a community member is chosen by random chance to be stoned to death. The purpose of rituals of this kind is to transfer the sins of the community to one of its members, who is then killed, thereby purging the bad feelings or sins, and bringing good fortune to the community.The FamilyIn the story, the Hutchinson family forms the center of the action, first when Tessie, the mother, is late to the lottery event, and with the characters of the husband-father Bill Hutchinson, as well as the son "little Davy" Hutchinson. The story concludes with the image of Davy receiving pebbles from other boys, in order to hasten the stoning of his own mother, Tessie. This thick irony shows that family roles can be easily overwhelmed by the violent mob mentality."Twice makes a tradition"Community members question the lottery and its use, but ultimately go through with the ritual to its grisly end. This shows that people may have a tendency to hold to a tradition despite logical arguments against it.