Tessie’s Revenge in The Lottery, a Short Story by Shirley Jackson
The crowd of villagers threw the stones at Tessie with all their might. “NO! Stop it! Please!” Tessie shouted with tears in her eyes. ”What’s happening?” Little Davy asked Mr. Hutchinson. With tears falling down his face, Mr.Hutchinson said “Oh, it’s nothing you have to worry about. Just stand behind me until this is over.” Bill Jr and Nancy began throwing the stones ever so softly because they could not have concentrated knowing what is happening to their mother.
“Come on! Throw them harder!” Old Man Warner shouted above the crowd. “No wonder the other towns quit the lottery,” Nancy said as she covered her face, not letting anyone see the tears in her eyes. Bill Jr and Nancy turned away from the crowd, not being able to look at the terrifying crowd. “Why didn’t anyone stop this? They all know it’s wrong, but they still choose to kill an innocent person every single year!” Bill Hutchinson shouted at the crowd, but no one paid any attention, as they were all too busy throwing stones. Soon enough, the torture was over. It seemed like hours and hours to the Hutchinsons. They couldn’t bear looking at the remains of Tessie Hutchinson.
They gathered around Tessie, checking if she was still alive, which is very rare in some cases the years before. “She’s gone” Bill Hutchinson whispered. He carried Tessie in his arms towards the cemetery. It was a very far walk across the town, but it was worth it, in honor of Tessie. The children watched how their very own father, Bill Hutchinson began to bury their mother. Bill dug and dug with all his might, tears blurring his vision, but he kept going as fast as he could. As soon as Bill finished, he and the children began walking back towards their home.
Meanwhile, a couple of minutes after Bill and the kids went home, Tessie’s hand struck out of the dirt. Old Man Warner, he was walking by, saw Tessie’s hand and ran as fast as he could, even though it wasn’t that fast due to his old age. He pulled her out of the dirt, as she gasped for air. He took her back to his house to clean herself up. They began walking, Old Man Warner wrapped Tessie’s arm around his shoulder and supported her while they were walking. “I thought you were dead. What happened? Why were you buried?” He asked her. Wincing after each step, she managed to say, “ I do not remember. I passed out during the ritual.”
Old Man Warner felt guilty after throwing stones at her, so he tried his very best to get everything she needed, but she will never forget what he did or forgive him. At Old Man Warner’s house, she took a bath while Old Man Warner started to set up dinner. When Tessie was done, she snuck out of the bathroom as quiet as a mouse. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She then crept up behind Old Man Warner and got her revenge. She left a letter on his body and ran towards the forest and was never seen again.
