Shirley Jackson's short story draws to mind the horrible feeling of waiting for your fate to be determined. The story's characters have to endure this, and then partake in the barbaric ritual of stoning someone they are familiar with to death. Jackson begins the story by portraying a small, tight-knit community gathering together on a beautiful day to partake in the lottery. However, the atmosphere quickly changes as the citizens hold their breath whenever they draw their slips of paper from the ominous black box. Tessie Hutchinson's reaction to drawing the black dot is jarring, and the thought of her neighbors and family members gathering stones to throw at her is disturbing. Shirley Jackson's decision to have the citizens murder their fellow neighbor by stoning them emphasizes the brutality of the lottery's tradition. Her message regarding the dangers of thoughtlessly obeying traditions hits home as Tessie screams for her life. The disturbing, unpleasant image of stoning someone is draconian and reminiscent of harsh medieval societies. The fact that the story is set in a small, nondescript town brings to mind the Salem witch trials, in which certain citizens sentenced their neighbors to death without remorse.