“The Lottery”

Worksheet Review

1. Descr ibe the se t t ing o f the s tory.

• Time: The morning of June 27th (year not identified)

• Place: Small, rural village (name/ geographical area not identified)• The lottery is held in the village square,

between the post office and the bank

2 . How many peop le popu la te the v i l l age?

• About 300 people populate the village• Relatively small population

• 12% of UHS population (2,500)• .5% of Union Township population

(54,500)

3 . Desc r ibe the v i l l age rs ’ m ood on the day o f the l o t t e ry

• The general mood appears relaxed and calm, as if this was any other day during the year• Summer-time feel; care-free; children

acting jovially• There are clues provided, however, which

demonstrate a pensive and reluctant attitude among many of the villagers• “…their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather

than laughed” (2).

4 . De s c r i b e t h e p a r a p h e r n a l i a o f t h e l o t t e r y a s w e l l a s t he p r e - l o t t e r y r i t u a l .

Paraphernalia = miscellaneous items• Black wooden box (“…grew shabbier each year”)• Slips of paper (one per person), with one slip of paper

marked by a black dot (original settlers of the village used chips of wood)

• Three-legged stool which holds the black wooden box in place

Pre-lottery ritual• Mr. Summers (civic coordinator of the village) is

responsible for assembling papers and marking one; black box is held at his coal company office but is held in various locations from year to year

5 . W h o i s l a t e t o t h e l o t t e r y a n d h o w d o e s t h i s c h a r a c t e r r e a c t u p o n r e a l i z i n g h e / s h e i s l a t e ?

Tessie Hutchinson is late to the lottery (foreshadows her fate)

She reacts with urgency and rushes to get to the village square

She acts cordially when she arrives, making jokes in order to shake-off the humiliation of arriving late• “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink,

now, would you, Joe?”

6 . H o w d o e s O l d M a n Wa r ne r f e e l a bo u t o t h e r v i l l a g e s ge t t i n g r i d o f t h e l o t t e r y ?

Old Man Warner fears change and warns against the alteration of tradition/rituals• “Pack of crazy fools… Listening to the young folks,

nothing’s good for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ There’s always been a lottery…”

Warner = Village elder who has lived through 77 lotteries; he represents the way things used to be as compared to the way things are heading in the future

7 . C o n s i d e r t h e o l d s a y i n g , “ L o t t e r y i n J u n e , c o r n b e h e a v y s o o n . ” W h a t s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n t h e

o r i g i n a l p u r p o s e o f t h e l o t t e r y ?

The original purpose of the lottery was for ritualistic sacrifice of one member of the community for the greater good of the whole community• People believed that offering up a

human life would ensure a bountiful harvest for all to enjoy

8 . H o w d o e s M r. H u t c h i n s o n t r e a t h i s w i f e a f t e r s h e q u e s t i o n s t h e l o t t e r y. H o w d o t h e o t h e r

t o w n s p e o p l e r e a c t t o h e r ?

Mr. Hutchinson snaps at his wife: “Shut up, Tessie.”• This demonstrates the power of the lottery

over familial obligation

The general reaction of the townspeople is one of indifference; they seem to ignore her pleas that the drawing was unfair• This demonstrates the power of social

tradition over communal obligation

9 . Genera l l y de ta i l the p rocess o f the l o t te ry

Mr. Summer acts as the coordinator

Head of household draws for entire family

Drawing is conducting alphabetically by last name

The head of the household that draws the slip of paper from black box with black dot on it “wins” the first round of the lottery

A separate lottery is conducting within “winning” family

The “winner” is stoned to death by all members of community

W h a t i s t h e s i g n i fi c a n c e o f Te s s i e ’ s fi n a l s c r e a m ? W h a t a s p e c t o f t h e l o t t e r y d o e s s h e e x p l i c i t l y

c h a l l e n g e ; w h a t a s p e c t g o e s u n q u e s t i o n e d ?

Tessie screams, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right!”

She challenges the fairness of her being picked but does not question the tradition itself• Perhaps her earlier hints at

moving the family to another lottery-free village factor into whether or not she thinks it is “fair” or “right” for her to be chosen?

1 1 . A n o m n i c i e n t n a r r a t o r t e l l s t h e s t o r y. H o w d o e s t h e P O V a ff e c t w h a t w e k n o w a b o u t t h e

s i t u a t i o n / p r e s e r v e t h e s t o r y ’ s s u s p e n s e ?

Omniscient point of view: narrator sees and knows all about the happenings of the story but is not a character acting within story

The point of view allows readers an unbiased perspective of a variety of characters and is not limited to any one perspective from one character• The story would be completely different if told

from Old Man Warner’s perspective… or Tessie’s perspective

Since the story is told by a narrator who sees and knows all, suspense is preserved by Jackson only providing small aspects of individual accounts (this allows clues/hints/foreshadowing)

1 2 . S o m e c r i t i c s i n s i s t t h a t t h e s t o r y h a s a n a d d e d s y m b o l i c m e a n i n g . W h a t m i g h t J a c k s o n b e t r y i n g t o

t e l l u s a b o u t h u m a n k i n d ?

Humans are naturally sadistic

Humans blindly commit to traditions

Humans are dictated by fear (inhibited or motivated to do something unwillingly)

Humans will do whatever is necessary for the greater good of the community

13 . Wou l d m urder be j u s t i fied o r m ora l l y acc ep tab le i f i t ha ppe ned due

t o an a cce p ted , a ge l e s s t ra d i t i on?

Answers may vary… Open for discussion!

A.If we follow traditions blindly, than anything can be morally justified or customized to “fit” the social norm.

B.Under no circumstance should tradition be followed if it compromises the sanctity of human life.

14 . How would you respond to cu l tures tha t are d ifferent f rom

ours tha t per form “s t range” r i tua l s?

Answers may vary… Open for discussion!

A.“To each his own” (respect for cultural differences)

B.All strange rituals must be banished! (push for global normalcy)

15. Provide examples of foreshadowing which hint at

the story’s conclusion. Children gathering stones Tessie arriving late to the lottery Mr. Summer’s comment to Tessie: “Thought we

were going to have to get on without you.” The Watson boy draws for his family (his mother

and father have died/ “won” past lotteries) Tessie’s protests when her husband, Bill, draws

the slip of paper with the black dot on it

16 . I den t i f y t he sy mbo l i c m ean ing ( s ) o f t he f o l l ow ing :

The Lottery• Ritualistic human sacrifice for a bountiful harvest• Humans’ need to blindly follow social traditions

The black box (as well as the stones, stool, lists)• Tradition/Normalcy/Social equity

The boys gathering stones• Innocence lost

Old Man Warner• Advocate against changing social traditions• Superstition/illogical

17. Why might have Sh i r ley Jackson not used an ex i s t ing town

or area for th is s tory? Perhaps Jackson wanted her audience to utilize

imagination as much as possible? Perhaps Jackson wanted her audience to view

this town as if it could exist anywhere/everywhere?

Perhaps Jackson did not want her readers to be biased by geographical stereotypes (create neutrality among a varied audience)?

Any other ideas? Volunteer and discuss!