"The Lottery" is relevant to real life because it reveals how readily people may be suppressed by the communities in which they live. The communities in which we live provide immense strength and comfort to the majority of us. However, too many people are oppressed by their communities. They suffer discrimination based on class, gender, religion, race, or other factors beyond their control. These people can be seen in "The Lottery" when Father Gannon tells John Mulligan that his family will not be going to mass tomorrow because they are Protestant. In actual fact, most families in 19th-century Ireland would have been excluded from many churches altogether because they were Catholic. People who feel powerless against these injustices may turn to chance for relief. The Irish lottery was a popular way for people to escape their circumstances. If you were born into an unlucky family, you had little choice but to try your luck at winning the lottery. But beware! This action has its own pitfalls. It's easy for someone who is desperate to believe that their chances are good enough to win the lottery. So they buy tickets by the dozen, hoping for a miracle. However, there are more likely candidates with better chances of winning. So even if they do win, they're still going to need help moving up economically.