In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, we have reason to believe that the process for the lottery has evolved over time. In the fifth paragraph we learn that the materials used originally for the lottery were lost, and that the black box now used to house the family names is older than the oldest man in town, Mr. Warner. We also know that the first lottery took place even before that:
"There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here." (Jackson 1)
This tells us that the original settlers possibly brought the idea with them from wherever they had come, which is not revealed to us.
On page two, we find out that the ritual itself has changed in some ways over the years, too. Some of the citizens have memories of a recital given by the lottery official, a ritual salute, and a chant. The slips of paper with names on them had once been wooden chips.
The one thing that has not changed about the lottery is the end result. Somebody has to die.
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