A lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers are drawn for a prize. Some lotteries are purely chance; others allow participants to choose their own number. The first known European lotteries were organized by the Roman Empire to raise money for repairs and to reward guests at dinner parties. Prizes were often fancy items like dinnerware or clothing. In modern times, a lottery can also include games of skill such as keno or bingo. The word “lottery” is derived from the Latin for drawing of lots, and it is generally understood to describe any competition where the outcome depends on chance, even if later stages of the contest require participants to use some degree of skill.

In The Lottery, Shirley Jackson exposes the hypocrisy and evil-nature of humankind through the actions of her characters. When she writes that the villagers greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip while manhandling each other, she clearly shows that they are not capable of acting in a good way.

In the beginning of the story, the reader can see that a man named Mr. Summers is in charge of the lottery. He has a black box that contains the tickets. Before the lottery starts, the tickets are thoroughly mixed by shaking or tossing. This is done to ensure that luck and not skill determines the winning ticket. Some modern lotteries use computers to record the numbers or symbols staked by each bettor and then randomly select a winner. A percentage of the pool is usually taken by costs for organizing and promoting the lotteries, while the remainder is available for prizes.