The outsized power of a great short story
In ninth grade, Ms. Hayes, my enthusiastic, whip-smart English teacher with expectations to match, handed out an unassuming packet a few pages long: “ The Lottery ” by Shirley Jackson. We read the short story aloud, one student picking up where the last left off, all of us relieved by the simple language and unconvoluted plot. Normally, she handed out a sonnet or free-verse poem that most of us…
In ninth grade, Ms. Hayes, a passionate and sharp English teacher, introduced her class to "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, a seemingly simple short story. The story's straightforward language and plot caught the students off guard, as they were more accustomed to analyzing complex sonnets or free-verse poems. The narrative details the annual "lottery" in a small agricultural town, where residents gather in the public square, children play with stones, and adults engage in small talk.
The calm nonchalance of the scene changes when Tessie Hutchinson draws the marked slip, leading to her neighbors and friends stoning her to ensure a good harvest. The story's brevity and powerful impact left a lasting impression on the author, who has since read many short stories by renowned authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Alice Munro, Anton Chekhov, Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz, Lauren Groff, and Camille Bordas.
Each story features diverse characters and settings, yet they all share qualities that make the short story a compelling form, including its ability to deliver a profound emotional experience in a brief timeframe.
Written by urgent.news from Big Think's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
