They play and talk together as if it's just another social occasion. None of them truly understand the implications of this barbaric tradition.

The adults also do not display much seriousness, until the actual lottery begins. The men gather in one place and the women gather in another, exchanging comments about their daily lives. The men discuss planting crops and taxes; the women gossip. Although they are not as loud and boisterous as the children, the adults smile as they chat; no one is saddened or distraught at the prospect of losing a friend or family member. Mr. Summers teases Tessie for almost missing the lottery; she responds with a joke—"Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink." The overall atmosphere is light before the ceremony begins.

Rumor has it that some people do not want the lotteries to continue, but this town does not seem to have many dissenters. Mr. Adams remarks that the north village might abolish the lottery. Mrs. Adams adds on that some towns have already abandoned it.

Some people are staunch supporters of the tradition. They revere the ceremony and believe it must continue for the good of the people. Old Man Warner is one of them; he calls the dissenters "crazy fools." He believes i the power of the lottery—"Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon." In his eyes, tradition is most important.

Once the lottery begins, people become more serious. They stop chatting and pay attention to every word spoken by the officials. Yet people still seem to not grasp the gravity of the ritual. "There goes my old man," says Mrs. Delacroix. "We're next," says Mrs. Graves. "Get up there, Bill," urges Mrs. Hutchinson. There's still an excitement, although it's a bit sobered.

Finally, by the end of the lottery, the only one who condemns it is the victim: Tessie Hutchinson. All others follow the ritual, still without true understanding since they're not the winners. "I'll catch up with you," says Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on, come on, everyone," pushes Old Man Warner. The children are ready with the stones, despite Tessie's protests of "It isn't fair, it isn't right."

In Shirley Jackson's celebrated short story "The Lottery," the citizens of the nondescript town blindly follow tradition by willingly participating in the lottery each year. The townspeople do not question the brutal ritual or protest against it. Even Tessie Hutchinson does not argue against the lottery until her husband chooses the slip of paper with the black spot. Tessie comes across as a forgetful individual, who is primarily concerned about her family's well-being until she becomes the unfortunate scapegoat. For the most part, the citizens seem resigned to the lottery as an essential part of their lives and view it as an indispensable tradition. Despite the fact that the lottery was founded on superstitious beliefs, the townspeople obediently adhere to the violent ritual by gathering in the town square as the head of each household draws a slip of paper from the ominous black box.

There are also outspoken proponents of the lottery like Old Man Warner, who harshly criticizes the progressive northern villages for forgoing the brutal tradition. Even Bill Hutchinson chastises his wife for arguing with Mr. Summers after he draws the slip with the black spot, and Tessie's friend, Mrs. Delacroix, encourages her to be a good sport. Despite the citizens' willingness to participate in the lottery, Jackson illustrates that they fear the violent ritual. At the beginning of the story, the men hesitate to help Mr. Summers stir the papers and keep their distance from the black box. There is certainly an ominous undertone to the ritual that the villagers experience, but they obediently agree to partake in the lottery because they strictly adhere to traditions. Overall, the citizens view the lottery as an indispensable, necessary tradition and willingly participate in the brutal ritual each June.

Most of the villagers are completely resigned to the fact that the lottery occurs.  It is a part of their normal existence.  They don't question it.  They don't fight it.  The villagers also don't seem to actively support it either.  The lottery is simply something that must be done and endured.  

The only character that I feel is pro lottery is Old Man Warner.  Based on his name, it's clear that he has been around a long time and has seen many lotteries.  He says that there has always been a lottery and sees no reason to discontinue it.  

Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live hat way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery," he added petulantly.

"Some places have already quit lotteries." Mrs. Adams said.

"Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools."

Based on the above quote, the reader can infer that Old Man Warner is not only in favor of the lottery, but he also thinks it would be stupid to give up. 

Mr. and Mrs. Adams are probably the most outspoken against the lottery, but their outspokenness is very minimal.  They only make a passing mention to Old Man Warner that other towns have quit the lottery.  I feel that if the Adams were totally in favor of the lottery, they wouldn't have said anything.  I think that they were trying to drop a hint to Old Man Warner about finding a way to stop doing the lottery.  

There are several textual clues in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" that elucidate for the reader the general attitude of town towards the lottery. The reader first becomes privy to the fact that "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones." The fact that the children are gathering materials for the lottery of their own accord in a diligent way indicates just how deeply normalized the lottery has become. At the very least, we know the children accept the lottery as an inevitability.

Soon after, the men of the town "stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed." They too seem to accept the lottery as inexorable. They "smiled rather than laughed" because of the grim event that lies ahead, but they do make an effort to smile. They make an effort to further normalize the day's event even as they feel uneasy about it.

This attitude is also reflected in the townspeople's body language, as

The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool, and when Mr. Summers said, “Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?,” there was a hesitation before two men, Mr. Martin and his oldest son, Baxter, came forward to hold the box steady on the stool while Mr. Summers stirred up the papers inside it.

Once again, there is an uneasy hesitation, but ultimately a commitment to seeing through the lottery and all its implications. The villagers share this communal burden much like how they share the black box itself, passing from one home to another year after year.

Though tension certainly mounts throughout the story up to its grisly end, the overall feel of the townspeople seems to remain the same. They feel nervous, slightly hesitant, and certainly not malicious, but determined to complete the yearly lottery when all is said and done.

The citizens fear the lottery but blindly follow the tradition by obediently taking part in the brutal ritual. At the beginning of the story, the community gathers in the town square, where they refrain from speaking loudly or laughing. When Mr. Summers asks if anyone can hold the box steady while he mixes the papers, several men hesitate before apprehensively lending him a hand. The citizens' behavior and actions indicate that they are timid, afraid, and anxious to participate in the lottery. They recognize that there is a possibility that they will be brutally murdered if they draw the slip of paper with the black spot on it.

Despite their fear and apprehension, the majority of the community values the tradition and willingly participates in the violent ritual. Old Man Warner is a staunch proponent of the lottery while Mr. Summers proudly conducts the ritual. Old Man Warner even claims that the town will go back to living in caves if they would ever abandon the lottery. The community participation and the obedience they demonstrate while patiently waiting their turn to draw the slips of paper depicts their blind faith in the tradition.

Out of all the characters, Tessie Hutchinson is the only person who speaks out against the lottery and challenges the ritual by yelling that Mr. Summers never gave Bill enough time to draw the slip of paper. Mrs. Delacroix, Mrs. Graves, and Bill Hutchinson defend the lottery by chastising Tessie for questioning the tradition. Tragically, Tessie chooses the slip of paper with the black spot on it and becomes the scapegoat. While Tessie continues to protest that the lottery was not fair, her family members, friends, and neighbors gather stones to hurl at her. The townspeople demonstrate their loyalty to the senseless tradition by brutally murdering Tessie in the town square.

It is hard to tell how most of the townspeople feel about making changes to the annual lottery. The only person who expresses a decisive opinion is Old Man Warner, who wants everybody to hear him defend this traditional event. Mr. and Mrs. Adams both rather timidly show they might be thinking their town should do what other towns are doing.

"They do say," Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, "that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery."

"Some places have already quit lotteries." Mrs. Adams said.

Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live hat way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery," he added petulantly. "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody."

Most people seem afraid to express any opinion about the lottery. They just go along with it year after year and hope that their family will not get chosen in the first drawing or that they themselves will not get chosen in the second. When the Hutchinson household gets selected in the first drawing, one young girl is heard above the sudden silence:

A girl whispered, "I hope it's not Nancy," and the sound of the whisper reached the edges of the crowd.

The young people care nothing about this ceremony. They don't understand it. But they are intimidated by their parents and all the other older people. If the lottery is ever to change it will have to be the young people who change it. That is what Old Man Warner is fearing when he says: "Listening to the young folks." This girl's whispering, "I hope it's not Nancy" is an indication of a growing feeling of resistance, an emergence of "felt values" of pity and affection over the blind superstition expressed vociferously and authoritatively by Old Man Warner without a challenge.

The condition of the black box symbolizes the general feelings about the lottery itself.

Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything's being done. The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.

There is a very good reason why the people do not want a new black box and why they do not want to pay any money to have one built. If they were to acquire a new black box it would be tantamount to saying that they all support the lottery and expect it to continue for as long as the old box lasted. Instead, they are all willing to watch the old black box deteriorate and would probably be happy to see it crumble into kindling.

If Old Man Warner is an extreme example of the pro-lottery sentiment, then Tessie Hutchinson can be considered an extreme example of the anti-lottery sentiment. Once she has been selected as this year's victim, she sees clearly what an ignorant, unnecessary, cruel, and unjust affair this lottery really is. 

"Listen, everybody," Mrs. Hutchinson was saying to the people around her.

But nobody is listening to her. She is no longer a member of the community but an outsider, a non-person.

"It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.

It is only Tessie who expresses the truth about the lottery in plain words. It isn't fair. It isn't right. Perhaps most of the people, except for that pigheaded Old Man Warner, know it isn't fair, it isn't right. But something--superstition, tradition, fear of public opinion, mob psychology, plain ignorance, or whatever--keeps them participating and prevents them from expressing their feelings in words.