"The Lottery"

I did not like this story at all. The beginning was great, and leading to the finale had me in suspense, but the ending just ruined the whole thing. Did Mrs. Hutchinson die, or just get rocks thrown at her? And why did the Mrs. Delacroix pick up such a huge rock that she needed two hands?! Some people are so cruel! I don't understand why such a horrible ritual would be carried on for so long. "Seventy-Seventh year I been in the lottery" Old Man Warner stated, (p.409 first paragraph).
When I hear lottery, I think of winning money or a prize of some sort, like a car, or house. A lottery is supposed to be something positive. Never have I heard of a negative lottery or one that determines death or injury. Thus possibly the true meaning behind the "black box". Black could symbolize death and the box could also be a coffin. It sure wasn't a pink box or a green box to maybe represent money. In the beginning of the story they compared the way the lottery was conducted to the square dances, teen-age club, and halloween program (p. 405). To me, these are all happy events that should have laughter and smiling at all times.
The characters were not dressed in their best clothes "The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters" (p. 405). They obviously knew this was nothing special, and didn't really dress up for this occasion. The small talk that was made amongst the women, didn't make the setting seem like a happy time either, almost like a type of foreshadowing.