Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" shocked many readers when it was published in 1948 for its portrayal of a brutal stoning ritual in a small town. Jackson had hoped the story would dramatize the pointless violence and inhumanity in ordinary lives. The story highlights the hypocrisy of a society where violence is accepted until it becomes personal, as the townspeople participate in stoning one of their own members to death in a ritual sacrifice.