The title has a positive connotation, but as we read further we see that this is not the case. Generally, a lottery is something you want to win. He can grant you money, trips and other prizes; However, the lottery that Shirley Jackson describes in her story is something you want to avoid winning. While the traditional lottery designates someone as a winner, this lottery designates someone as persecuted. By calling it “the lottery,” Jackson keeps the audience ignorant of the true essence of the story. “The lottery was run—as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program—by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (263). The lottery is likened to dance parties and teenage clubs, and it is only when we learn the true nature of the lottery that we are shocked by the comparison. These are activities and institutions that seem normal to us and are compared to a brutal ritual. This implies that we need to take a closer look at our traditions and institutions and determine whether or not they are actually beneficial. For example, just as “the lottery” did not have a negative connotation, the name that the Nazis used to describe what we call the Holocaust did not have a negative connotation either. They euphemistically called it "the final solution ».”