“The Lottery Ticket” by Anton Chekhov
p. 198 Echoes 11
Pre-reading Activities
A.
 Define Satire and conventions used in writing satire.
 Group brainstorm of popular satire in the media today
B. Discuss the psychology between lotteries. Why do people buy tickets? Why do
people gamble? How are their lives affected if they win? Is it possible to remain
unchanged if you win a large lottery? What are some of the problems/concerns
associated with lotteries?
Satire: The use of humour as a device to expose flaws in people, literary
works, institutions, or society.
Conventions of humour in satirical writing:
 Irony—A type of humour based on using words/statements to suggest the
opposite of their literal meaning.
 Parody—A work, literary or artistic, that imitates the characteristic style of
an author, work, or genre for comic effect.
 Sarcasm—Remarks that mean the opposite of what they seem to say and are
intended to mock (more cutting than verbal irony)
 Contrast—The juxtaposition of two dissimilar subjects, people, tones, etc
which results in a comedic effect.
 Understatement—A statement that is deliberately less forceful or dramatic
than the subject would seem to justify or require.
 Exaggeration—Statements which suggest that something is better, worse,
more common or more important than is true or usual.
 Surprise—Statements which cause one to feel sudden wonder or amazement,
especially because of something unexpected.
 Ridicule—Statements which make fun of or mock someone or something in a
contemptuous way.
Responding Activities
1. What conventions of humour in satire does Chekhov employ in “The Lottery
Ticket”?
2. What is the story satirizing? Support your response.
3. What is the irony at the ending?
4. In what tone does the narrator tell the story? How is it established? What effect
does this tone have on the reader’s response to the story?
5. Respond in a persuasive paragraph to the statement: “Lotteries are nothing more
than a tax on those who can least afford it.”