Mr Summers

Mr Summers is a secondary character in the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. He runs the coal business (ll. 26, l. 32) and is in charge of many of the community’s activities: “The lottery was conducted – as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program – by Mr Summers” (p. 26, ll. 29-30). Despite his wealth and his status, the community sees Mr Summers as an unfortunate man: “people were sorry for him because he had no children and his wife was a scold.” (p. 26, ll. 32-33)

We are told that Mr Summers is wealthy and that he “had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (p. 26, ll. 31-32), which suggests that his social status gives him the opportunity to organise them. In reality, Mr Summers’ position as organiser of the lottery also means that he hold...