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““The The Lottery”Lottery”p.p.

251251 By By Shirley Shirley JacksonJackson1916-19651916-1965

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Shirley Jacksonhttp://www.courses.vcu.edu/ENG-jkh/http://www.salon.com/jan97/jackson970106.html

Born in San Francisco Died at age 48 Published short stories in many magazines Mother of 4 and faculty wife Peak of her writing career occurred in

Bennington, VT

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Types of Conflict

Person against person Person against social environment

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Tone and Movement of Plot

Exposition: Very little conflict Holiday picnic atmosphere

Complication: Mrs. Hutchinson is late. Gradually builds to horrifying conclusion

Climax: We discover the true nature of the lottery. Contrast contributes to horror.

Denoument What is it?

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Irony and Tension

These are derived from the discrepancy between the friendliness and good will of the community and the cruelty and meaninglessness of the practice they perpetuate

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Setting: Effectiveness

Small town Could be anywhere (small town, USA) No specific locale or year given Widespread attitudes - anywhere, any

era

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Flat Characters:

Mr. Sommers Represents civic duty Reasonably progressive BUT - doesn’t question the ritual itself A man of ignorant good will

Mrs. Hutchinson Self-centered Accepts lottery without concern until it falls on her Protests it is unfair Would eagerly shift her fate elsewhere—even upon her

own daughter

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Stock Characters:

Mr. & Mrs. Adams Liberals At least question the necessity of lottery Do nothing to protest against it or change it

Old Man Warner Bigoted reactionary Contempuous of younger generation

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PROTAGONIST= the villagers

ANTAGONIST= the villagers’ own blind acceptance of tradition

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TitleDoes it contribute to the theme?

Point of ViewObjectiveAllows for a gradual realization “Matter-of-course” view adds to the horror

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The Lottery: An Open-Ended Symbol for Unquestioned Social Practices

Social segregation Class distinctions Racial prejudice Religious prejudice War The Draft Other ideas?

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More Symbols

The black box Symbolizes the determination to cling stubbornly to

certain relics that are preservable

Slips of paper Symbolize the illogical willingness to be flexible

about aspects of the ritual that are not preservable

Other Symbols?

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TRADITIONS

Not a direct attack on traditions Thrust of story is against the

unquestioning acceptance of cruel or irrational traditions or social systems

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THEME

Essentially decent and kind people may perform cruel, irrational actions through the unquestioning acceptance of traditions and customs that have lost their original meaning.