Shirley Jackson's own life has serious effects on her writings, especially on "The Lottery." Her early life was not a peaceful one. She preferred to stay in her room and write poetry rather than go outside and play with other children. Her college life was not great either because she dropped out and was put in a mental institute. After she was released from there her married life started. Shirley married in 1940 to Stanley Edgar Hyman, a Jewish intellectual whom encouraged her rebellion. He also encouraged her to become a severe critic who smoked too much, ate too much,...
and dislocation, and most of them fail. 5

Ms. Hutchinson in The Lottery is an example of Jackson's common protagonists. She is an ordinary house woman with no special feature that separates her from other women. In the end of the story she fells into a deep fear and with the help of this feeling she rebels against the tradition.

In conclusion, it is clear that The Lottery was written by Shirley Jackson with the inspiration of her own life. Because she was not so willing to say, why she used her life for her writings is a mystery.