Although the story is set in the United States, where democracy is the main form of government, the villagers in “The Lottery” are forced to join and follow the tradition. As a wealthy coal entrepreneur and lottery official, Mr. Summer is the village's authority figure. He has the power to command and manipulate the villagers by exploiting their desire to preserve the tradition of the lottery. Jackson explicitly reveals that Mrs. Hutchinson's lottery card "[has] a black stain on it, the black stain that Mr. Summer [had] made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office" (Jackson 7). Since Mr. Summer is the government official of the lottery, he can mark the winning lottery card to avoid picking it himself; thus, eliminating his chance of becoming the winner. This passage demonstrates Mr. Summer's dictatorship and corruption. The passage is also consistent with the characteristics of dystopian literature. The villagers are not only controlled by tradition, but their lives are also in the hands of a corrupt official. Mr. Summer is trusted and seen as a leader by many villagers because he "[has] time and energy to devote to civic activities" and can provide jobs through owning a coal business (Jackson 1) . Being a leader, Mr. Summer is expected to be honest, kind, and selfless; however, according to him he is cruel and manipulative