Answer:
It is her most famous and most controversial story. She received lots of hate mail, even from her parents.
Explanation:
I could not find where it was her first short story. Another one, "Charles" was published in 1948, the same year as "The Lottery".
It is most definitely NOT a humorous story.
It was fiction.
It is necessary because if you don't have a confirmed opinion with textual evidence to back it up you wont have a good argument.