After reading Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery", a view on humanity was opened to me that I never gave too much thought to before. ... Jackson uses this story as a reflection of our human society. ... Jackson's story also emphasizes how we must face consequences in our society. ...In my opinion, this story is a way to demonstrate how everyone has a weakness inside them, but more significantly, an underlying evil. Even today, people follow what is done by others, and not what they truly believe in. In a way, depending on the ending, it is truly evil.
I find this story to be startling and eye-opening because it shows the reader (after having to do some thinking) that standing up for what you believe in is paramount and can mean the difference between good and evil.
In addition to the above responses, I think that Jackson's implicit criticism of traditional practices might also make people feel unsettled. The members of the town in "The Lottery" do not even know how the tradition of the lottery was started, yet they continue to practice it although no one obviously enjoys it. When people do bring up ending the lottery, they are criticized by more traditional elders who ironically claim that it would be "savage" to end their tradition. This blind adherence to traditional practices does not benefit anyone in the story, and this statement mirrors what people do in reality. Maybe not a good thing to hear