Tessie Hutchinson in the "Lottery": Character Analysis
Tessie Hutchinson in the "Lottery": Character Analysis
Academic level: Master’s
Essay type: Memoir
Size: 2 pages ~ (942 words)
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story that was initially negatively perceived by the audience but gained fame as one of the most prominent stories in the history of American literature. A fictional story centering around a small American community tells us about the ancient violent ritual believed to bring rich harvest and purge the town of bad omens. The “lottery” ritual takes away the life of one citizen annually, and despite its brutality, as well as the fact that other communities have already discontinued it, many citizens believe the tradition that has always been there needs to continue. They feel excited, yet nervous, on June 27–the day of the lottery.
In order to understand the development of Tessie Hutchinson in The Lottery, it’s important to understand the background of the tradition. Held for as long as the community of a small, seemingly idyllic American community can remember, the lottery is a ritual in which the town randomly picks one “winner” to be stoned to death. The lottery is held on June 27 and happens in several draws. First, the community draws one family, then one household within that family, and, finally, one person from that household who’s fated to be the winner. Despite the violent nature of this ritual, Jackson masterfully sets an atmosphere of normalcy and routine during the annual event, which leads to genuine shock in readers when they reach the culmination and learn about the final stage of the lottery. In my opinion, the background of the tradition and the ambiance of ordinariness created by the author emphasize the shocking viciousness of the lottery, explore the absurdity of blindly following certain traditions, and let us dive into the dark underbelly of human nature.
So, who is Tessie Hutchinson in The Lottery? Tessie Hutchinson emerges as a protagonist of the story, as well as a very dynamic and controversial character whose development is a response to how the story unfolds. Tessie appears in front of us as someone who doesn’t see the lottery with the same sanctity. While other villagers feel excited and nervous, actively preparing for the ritual, she forgets about it–“Clean forgot what day it was,” as she confessed to Mrs. Delacroix. Furthermore, she runs late for the lottery while other citizens show up right on time.
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What does Tessie Hutchinson look like? Shirley Jackson doesn’t really delve into the physical description of the character. The author defines Tessie as a typical housewife and friendly, cheerful woman who’s also somewhat carefree. Despite her negligent attitude, the character of Tessie Hutchinson from The Lottery still appears to me as an ideal citizen. She arrives late but acts as a willing participant. She makes her way to join her husband and kids during the drawing and even seems optimistic about it at first–“Get up there, Bill,” Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near her laughed.” All in all, reading the story, I felt like she somewhat enjoyed the process like the rest of the villagers at first. She probably viewed it more like a show or game, though she clearly wasn’t prepared for the dark reality hidden behind it.
Now, how does Tessie Hutchinson change throughout the story? We can observe the first shift in her attitude and character dynamic after the first round of drawing. From being previously cheerful and diligent, Tessie shows her rebellious character after the Hutchinson family draws the marked paper. Facing reality, she only exclaims–“It wasn’t fair!” But the community members don’t listen to her and her own husband tells her to quiet down her temper. This shows how blindly the entire village obeys the rules and the despair the protagonist faces.
The next shift in the character dynamic is observed when Tessie somewhat puts up with her family being drawn in the lottery and tries to protect herself. When Mr. Summers asks if there are any other households in Tessie Hutchinson family for further drawing, she instantly fires–“There’s Don and Eva... Make them take their chance!” The way Tessie points at her own daughter Eva and her husband to throw them into danger reveals how the violent ritual destroyed family bonds and made them so fragile that parents are ready to protect their lives, sacrificing their children. Although Jackson doesn’t explicitly state this, I believe that the same frailty family bonds as in the Hutchinson family can probably be found in other families in the village.
Finally, the culmination of Tessie Hutchinson’s character development happens when she gets drawn in the last round of the lottery and becomes the “winner” in her family. She obeys and stands with her hands held out, desperately waiting for her fate. In the end, she only continues screaming that the lottery is unfair, as other villagers and her own family start throwing stones. Even her young son Davy picks up the stones he gathered earlier to participate in a disturbing act of violence.
So, what does Tessie Hutchinson symbolize in The Lottery? As the story unfolds, we see her character transform from an ideal citizen and carefree spectator to a desperate victim. We can see the initial Tessie Hutchinson character traits, such as cheerfulness, certain negligence, and friendliness, be replaced with poignant self-preservation and readiness to give up on her loved ones to protect herself. At the end of the story, Tessie is terrified and screams about injustice. I believe she symbolizes the carefree nature of regular participants who don’t recognize the harsh reality of the old tradition until it’s their turn to be the sacrificial lamb. It seems like now she’s the only one who truly realizes the unfairness and brutality of the lottery.
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