Conflict
• The central conflict in "The Lottery" is Individual vs. Society, showing the individual's struggle against collectively accepted norms. Tessie Hutchinson refuses to accept that her family, and then she herself, has been chosen for the Lottery, but her protests are ignored and overpowered by the collective assurance of the ritual's acceptance.
• Bill Hutchinson gets "it." His wife protests.Explanation/Discussion:
This is the first overt moment of discord we see in the story, as Tess Hutchinson disagrees with the result of the lottery. Basically, this has conflict written all over it
• I suggest that the main conflict in the story is between abstract principles and not between characters. The conflict might be described as past versus present, tradition versus enlightenment, superstition versus reason, or ignorance versus truth. The protagonist in this conflict would be the past, or tradition, or superstition, or ignorance. The antagonist would be the simple truth, including the truth that human sacrifice doesn't make the corn grow.
• Character
• Mr. Summers (Proceed & Bad character)- The man who conducts the lottery. Mr. Summers prepares the slips of paper that go into the black box and calls the names of the people who draw the papers. The childless owner of a coal company, he is one of the village leaders.
• Mrs.Tessie Hutchinson (Main charecter) - The unlucky loser of the lottery. Tessie draws the paper with the black mark on it and is stoned to death. She is excited about the lottery and fully willing to participate every year, but when her family’s name is drawn, she protests that the lottery isn’t fair. Tessie arrives at the village square late because she forgot what day it was.
• Mr.Bill Hutchinson(Bad character) - Tessie’s husband. Bill first draws the marked paper, but he picks a blank paper during the second drawing. He is fully willing to show everyone that his wife, Tessie, has drawn the marked paper.
• Old Man Warner (Minor character) - The oldest man in the village. Old Man Warner has participated in seventy-seven lotteries. He condemns the young people in other villages who have stopped holding lotteries, believing that the lottery keeps people from returning to a barbaric state.
• Mr. Harry Graves (Minor character) - The postmaster. Mr. Graves helps Mr. Summers prepare