A lottery is a type of gambling wherein numbers are drawn to determine a winner. It is usually run by a state or national government and offers cash or goods as prizes. Lotteries are popular with the public and can raise substantial amounts of money. They can also be used to fund other types of public spending, such as education or infrastructure projects.
The setting of Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, is similar to that of District 12’s small town in “The Hunger Games”. This story takes place in a remote American village where tradition and custom are paramount. The villagers rely on the lottery as a means of making money for their families and businesses.
Lotteries have a long history, with the first recorded ones being held in the Low Countries in the 15th century to raise money for town fortifications and help the poor. They were later introduced to the United States by colonists. Benjamin Franklin organized a lottery to give away land and slaves in 1742, and George Washington sponsored a lottery in 1768 to build a road across the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Historically, lottery proceeds were used to fund a variety of public uses, including the paving of streets, construction of wharves and buildings, even college tuition. In the immediate post-World War II period, many states hailed the lottery as an easy way to expand their array of services without raising especially onerous taxes on the middle class and working class. But as lottery revenues grew, they began to level off and eventually decline. This led to a steady introduction of new games to maintain or increase revenues.
