The setting in "The Lottery" supports the suggestion that the people involved in the annual event are simple American country people. This is further defined by their speech and the things they talk about. We gather that this is intended to be a picture of small-town America. The crowd consists of around three hundred men, women and children. Many of them live on farms outside of town, but they are part of the township because they come here to do all their shopping, banking, etc. They all know each other. It is the fact that they are such a close-knit community that makes it so horrible when they all turn on one of their members to stone her to death. These simple folk take it for granted that the lottery is normal and essential, and most of them enjoy participating—as long as they don't get selected!
Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. "It isn't fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone."
It is because of the small-town nature of the setting and the people that the outcome of the lottery is so shocking to the reader. They seem to be cut off from the outer world. A few have heard rumors about events in other close-by villages, but they seem to know nothing about the greater world outside their tiny one. And, of course, the greater world knows nothing about them; otherwise they couldn't continue holding these events.
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