“The
Lottery”
p.251
By
Shirley Jackson
1916-1965
1
"The Lottery"
Shirley Jackson
http://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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"The Lottery"
Types of Conflict
Person against person
Person against social environment
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"The Lottery"
Tone and Movement of
Plot
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Exposition:
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Complication:
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We discover the true nature of the
lottery.
Contrast contributes to horror.
Denoument
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4
Mrs. Hutchinson is late.
Gradually builds to horrifying conclusion
Climax:
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Very little conflict
Holiday picnic atmosphere
What is it?
"The Lottery"
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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"The Lottery"
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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"The Lottery"
Flat Characters:
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Mr. Sommers
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Represents civic duty
Reasonably progressive
BUT - doesn’t question the ritual itself
A man of ignorant good will
Mrs. Hutchinson
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Self-centered
Accepts lottery without concern until it falls on her
Protests it is unfair
Would eagerly shift her fate elsewhere—even upon her
"The Lottery"
own7 daughter
Stock Characters:
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Mr. & Mrs. Adams
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Old
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Liberals
At least question the necessity of lottery
Do nothing to protest against it or change it
Man Warner
Bigoted reactionary
Contempuous of younger generation
"The Lottery"
PROTAGONIST=
the villagers
ANTAGONIST= the
villagers’ own blind
acceptance of tradition
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"The Lottery"
 Title
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Does it contribute to the theme?
Point of View
Objective
 Allows for a gradual realization
 “Matter-of-course” view adds to the horror
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"The Lottery"
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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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"The Lottery"
More Symbols
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The black box
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Slips of paper
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Symbolizes the determination to cling stubbornly to
certain relics that are preservable
Symbolize the illogical willingness to be flexible
about aspects of the ritual that are not preservable
Other Symbols?
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"The Lottery"
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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"The Lottery"
THEME
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Essentially decent and kind
people may perform cruel,
irrational actions through the
unquestioning acceptance of
traditions and customs that have
lost their original meaning.
"The Lottery"