The beginning of the story tells us that in some towns, there were so many people that it took two days to complete the lottery. However, in this village we are reading about, it was small enough that the lottery could be done in less than two hours. Why do you think this might be significant?
How realistic do you feel this story “The Lottery” is? Do we take it that the author wants us to believe a lottery like this actually happens every year, or do you think the author means for this story to be more symbolic? That is, maybe the author means for this story to stand for something else or even teach us a lesson.
If you believe the story is symbolic or not meant to be taken literally, what message or lesson do you believe the author is conveying? (There is no one right answer here. Readers have questioned this story and tried to interpret its ending, but the author refused to give an interpretation “leaving readers to decide for themselves).
To help interpret some meaning from “The Lottery” and to figure out what the story may be symbolic of, a good place to start is looking at the publication date. Even though the story seems to take place in a much earlier time, the fact that it was published in 1948 might help with finding some meaning. What was taking place historically, socially and culturally during the time this story was published that might help determine its meaning?