Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery", ironically gives the lottery a bad meaning. The lottery in this story is used for a public stoning, contrary to the first thing that comes to a reader's mind when they think of winning the lottery; a big sum of money. The reader sees both literal and metaphorical meaning of this story because for one it shows for face value what the entire story is about, and hidden behind …showed first 75 words of 1442 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1442 total…losing in the end. She does not get what she wants, so she ends up being beaten by the system. This type of story would not be for the immature reader as the reader expects for the winner to get something good, but the author pulls the rug from under them and gives them an ending other than expected. The mature reader reads this as a fact of life, and recognizes the faults of society.