The Lottery

In The Lottery, Shirley Jackson detailed an event in which otherwise normal townsfolk, unleash their dark side to ensure a tradition continues.
The ritual of the annual Lottery could have similarities to our hometown summer festival. The townspeople anticipated the day and participated with loyal conviction. Seen as somewhat of a social gathering, the children played while the menfolk discussed crops and taxes. Yet the men were not talking lightheartedly, they were heavy with the responsibility that would befall them. "Their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed." (pg. 405)
"The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool." (pg. 406) showed that even though they were in attendance, there was a dislike for the black box and what it would mean for one of them. That the box was black is significant, as is the marking on the paper being a black dot, after all, black signifies death.
The significance in the town square is that the village is the center of all. There is a hierarchy here that the town comes first. Then the men, who drew first for their household. If the man of the home wasn't able, the wife or an adult son drew for the family. It was a responsibility to the town, not a privilege. The family is treated only as a unit and I find it unusual that even the youngest children are obligated to partake in the drawing and little Davy was given stones to throw at his own mother. Parents did not shield their children from the violence, rather they insisted they were a part of it. Even so far as Mrs. Hutchinson calling out that her daughter and son-in-law need to draw and face the possibility of death. And when Nancy and Bill Jr. opened theirs, they "both beamed and laughed" (pg. 410) even though this meant that one of their parents would face a stoning.
The author also shows how personal friendship is of no value in this town either. Mrs. Delacroix was chatting with Mrs. Hutchinson and acting as they here old friends, yet in the end, Mrs. Delacroix was in the front of the crowd, holding a rock so heavy, she needed both hands to lift it. The significance of this part of the story in relationship to the author is that she felt her town had never accepted her, that they town would have turned their back on her friendship, doing only what was good for the town, even if it meant harm to their own.