The reasons for my personal reading of “The Lottery” include living in a 21st century society and the implications and changes of the time period between now and when the short story was set in. Living in a 21st century community implies that everyone should be accepted, that everyone has free will and divorce is more orthodox than before. It is no longer frowned upon and everyone has their own personal reasons for divorce which are accepted. Because of this viewpoint we focus more on the reasons of Grace’s decision to divorce Patrick rather than the action of divorce itself. “His mind darted here and there suspiciously. There was something secretive in Grace, and he’d thought she told him everything.” This quote alludes to the thought that their marriage didn’t have much trust and Patrick wasn’t fully in control, shown by how meticulously he had planned their finances. As Patrick was used to being in control and knowing everything to do with his family, the surprise of winning the lottery didn’t sit well with him. This caused him to become judgemental towards Grace accusatory. “He took her awkwardly in his arms” this shows that there wasn’t much love in their marriage either, no affection. This caused Grace to feel alone and uncared for. “I’m going away. By myself. Before it’s too late. I’m going tomorrow.” This indicates that Grace thought that the money that she would win in the lottery was her last chance to get away, away from their ‘cold’ marriage and her current life situation. Because she had tagged the money won, as her last hope, it shows that she had felt trapped and that she believed that winning the money was going to be here only way out, instead of trying to work it out with her husband.