“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 . Descr ibe the v i l l agers ’ mood 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 . D e 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 h e 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 n e r f e e l a b o u t o t h e r v i l l a g e s g e 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 process 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 ld m urder be j u s t ifi ed o r m ora l l y accep tab le i f i t happened due

t o an accep ted , age le ss t rad 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 that are d iff erent f rom

ours that 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 . Ident i f y the symbo l i c mean ing(s ) o f the fo l l owing :

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 Shir ley Jackson not used an ex is 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!