While the answer to this question is not indicated in
Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," since the ritual is so old, it is suggestive of a
drawing of lots to have one person be a scapegoat for the evils that may plague the
future harvest. The concept of the scapegoat is an ancient elimination rite which
involves the sacrifice of one as the vehicle of all the evils that may plague a
community.
As support for this idea, there are two things
that are mentioned. Clyde Dunbar is home with a broken leg and cannot draw a lot
because in ancient rituals the sacrificial victim must be perfect; then, Old Man Warner
mentions the connection to insuring the harvest when he recites, "'Lottery in June, corn
be heavy soon.'"
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