What is the story called "The Lottery" all about?

The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson is a historical fiction
short story with Gothic characteristics.

The story gears
around a town, better yet, a village (not specified where exactly) in which "a lottery"
was conducted. We do not know at first what this lottery is about, but we do know that
it was a big deal, for school was out that day, the kids would gather around the village
center, then the men, and slowly the place would gather up. It speaks of it being
regarded and practiced with the same esteem as teen dances, and many other special and
respected events.

What we know, however, is that one person
is late, which is a woman whom later we realize is the main character, Mrs Tessie
Hutchinson, who came to participate in a rush, leaving her dishes and all behind at
home.

We know that, after each head of household draws a
paper, the Old Warren asks for people to open the paper that they hold. If the person
has a black dot in their paper, they are the winners of the
lottery.

What we KNOW LATER is that this lottery is a sick,
ancient tradition held in this village in which the person elected will die of
stoning.In this case, the name called was that of Tess
Hutchinson

The idea behind the story is the reality behind
blind, ancient practices and how sometimes habit makes us creatures of
stupidity.