“The Lottery”
Shirley Jackson
Notes on the story
Focus Activity
1. What is a lottery?
2. What do you think about winning a
lottery?
3. What would you expect to win?
4. Does a lottery give everyone equal
chances?
Holding a Lottery…
Everyone selects a slip of paper from the
black box.
No one (except me) should see what is on
the paper.
The winner will receive his/her prize later.
Answer these questions, now!
1.
2.
3.
4.
Was the lottery fair to all participants?
Do you want to win the prize?
Why do you want to win?
What would be the best thing that you
could win from this lottery?
Vocabulary for the Story
1. Paraphernalia
2. Boisterous
3. Fade
4. Shabby
5. Inevitable
6. Assemble
7. Enthusiasm
8. Exploitation
9. Petulantly
10.Clung
11.Daintily
12.Lapse
13.Lottery
14.Beamed
• Take a sheet of paper and
fold it in half hot dog style.
V
O
C
A
B
U
L
A
R
Y
• Write each word along the
front side.
• Cut under each word.
• Write the definition under
the word.
• This can help you study
the vocabulary.
Warm-up (Wednesday)
Create 3 categories. List items that would
belong in each category under it.
Warm-up (Wednesday)
Create 3 categories. List items that would
belong in each category under it.
What is the over all topic?
Outline Form
Change the Warm-Up into an OUTLINE
North Carolina
Expanded
I. Landforms
II. Towns
a.
b.
c.
d.
Beaches
Sand hills
Piedmont
Mountains
II. Towns
a.
b.
c.
Hickory
Valdese
Boone
III. Universities
a.
b.
c.
Duke
UNC
NCSU
a.
Hickory
1.
2.
3.
b.
Valdese
1.
2.
c.
Downtown
Mall area
Furniture town
Waldesians-founded
Bakery
Boone
1.
2.
ASU
Mass General Store
DAR Essay
• You need a highlighter or pen and the handout.
• Title:
– “Young American Takes a Stand: The War of 1812”
• Pretend you were alive during the War of 1812 and
had a friend who has become famous in history
because of standing up for American during that
exciting but dangerous time. Describe the perosn and
how he or she stood up for America. Explain why it is
important to honor such heroes when we celebrate
the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.
• When you want to win, and I do, it is a good idea to be
very creative in your approach to the topic.
Vocabulary for “The Lottery”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Paraphernalia
Boisterous
Fade
Shabby
Inevitable
Assemble
Enthusiasm
Exploitation
Petulantly
Clung
Daintily
Lapse
Lottery
Beamed
V
O
C
A
B
U
L
A
R
Y
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Assorted things (for specific activity)
Noisy and active
To lose brightness, dim
Showing signs of wear and tear, worn-out
Impossible to avoid
Bring or call together
Great excitement for or interest in a
subject or cause
The act of employing to the greatest
possible advantage
With unreasonable irritation
Held tightly
Delicately, in a lady-like fashion
End without being renewed
Contest of chance drawing
Smiled very happily
Vocabulary Activity
1. Paraphernalia
2. Boisterous
3. Fade
4. Shabby
5. Inevitable
6. Assemble
7. Enthusiasm
8. Exploitation
9. Petulantly
10. Clung
11. Daintily
12. Lapse
13. Lottery
14. Beamed
1. Create 7 sentences using one
word in each sentence. (A
sentence that defines the word is
unacceptable. EX – Shabby
means worn-out.)
2. Underline each vocabulary word.
3. Once everyone has completed the
activity, we will play a game! Be
sure you know your words.
Quick Write…
Choose one of the following and write a
detailed, elaborative paragraph.
•
•
•
•
Some traditions my family shares are...
The craziest superstition I believe in is...
What does it mean to be “evil”?
An “Eye for an Eye” is an ethical means of
punishment for crimes committed.
Creating Definition – B1
What actions are evil?
What does evil look like?
Evil
What actions are evil?
Creating Definition – B2
What actions are evil?
What does evil look like?
Evil
What actions are evil?
Previewing “The Lottery”
1. Setting – small town America, at the end
of June
– What is happening at the end of June?
2. What does the word lottery bring to mind?
Read the next 2 passages on the following slides and make
predictions about the story.
Try to guess what the prize of the Lottery might be.
Passage One
“The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the
fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were
blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.
The people of the village began to gather in the square,
between the post office and the bank, around ten
o’clock; in some towns there were so many people that
the lottery took two days and had to be started on June
26th, but in this village, where there were only about 300
people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it
could begin at ten o’clock in the morning and still be
through in time to allow the villagers to get home for
noon dinner.”
Passage Two
“Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own
children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and
taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones
in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled
rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house
dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk.
They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip
as they went to join their husbands. Soon the women,
standing by their husbands, began to call their children,
and the children came reluctantly, having to be called
four or five times.”
Warm-Up
Create as many words as possible with the
following letters. Words must be 2 or
more letters.
What was your score?
• After going around the room to eliminate
some of the common words….
• Calculate your score using the following
formula:
– 2 points for 2 letter words
– 3 points for 3 letter words
– 4 points for 4 letter words
– And so on!!!
Stems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reviewing the words:
dichotomy
pathological
cryptic
isosceles
pathogen
vociferous
rectify
sanctimonious
tortuous
rectilinear
metamorphosis
petroglyph
Expert to expert
Reviewing
• Yesterday we started “The Lottery”
• What was the setting of the story?
• Who were some of the characters
mentioned?
• How did you feel while we were
reading the story?
Reading the Story
• Stop at “Bill Hutchinson’s got it…”
• What will the winner of the lottery receive?
• Complete the story without comment.
Respond to the Reading
• Write your initial thoughts about the story!
• DO NOT TALK – SIMPLY WRITE!
• Clean Sheet of paper, please!
Is it a horror story?
• What type of atmosphere does Jackson
create at first, and how does that change?
• Why are the townspeople holding the
lottery? Why don't they stop?
Class Discussion
1. What do we know about Mrs.
Hutchinson? Her husband? Family?
2. Why, according to the author, does the
town carry out the lottery?
3. What foreshadows the final act?
4. Why do the townspeople carry out the
stoning? What does this reveal about
their character?
5. How does Jackson treat the idea of
“equal opportunity” in the story?
Friday (Warm-Up)
Stems Test Today
• Take 5 minutes to study
your stems with a partner
• I need your completed
foldables
• 7 sentences from “The
Lottery” vocabulary
Timer
Today’s Agenda
Stem Test
• You may write on the test
Reading Blog
• Discussing the directions
• Describe your least favorite
character and explain why.
• If you could ask the author a
question, what would you ask
them?
• In 4-6 sentences, describe
several insights you have
gained from your reading.
Timer
On the back of your test answer one of the
following questions. Write a good
paragraph with supporting details.
Sharing Your Sentences
1. Paraphernalia
2. Boisterous
3. Fade
4. Shabby
5. Inevitable
6. Assemble
7. Enthusiasm
8. Exploitation
9. Petulantly
10.Clung
11.Daintily
12.Lapse
13.Lottery
14.Beamed
1.
V
O
C
A
B
U
L
A
R
Y
2.
3.
4.
5.
The gardening paraphernalia is
stored near the tiller and rakes in
the basement.
She spoke petulantly to her mother
when accused of not completing her
chores and homework.
The exploitation of workers caused
them to protest the long hours and
demand better working conditions.
His lapse of memory caused the
project to remain incomplete on its
due date resulting in a failing grade.
The girl beamed with happiness
when asked to attend the dance
with Bill, the cute guy in math class.
Imagery Task
• Draw a picture of Mr. Summers, standing at the box,
calling out names. This shouldn't be a quick stick-figure
work of art, either: the story gives extensive detail about
Mr. Summers and about the box itself. It is made of
wood, and has been painted black, and repainted; it is
starting to show its age. It rests on a stool. Mr. Summers
has on a "clean white shirt and blue jeans," and his hand
sits "carelessly" on the box.
• What is wrong with the picture?
– The fact that someone who is an executioner could wear the
color of innocence (white) and act so casually while standing
next to an object that is sure to bring death to someone -- even
possibly him -- makes this story even more grotesque.
Monday (Warm-UP)
Define the word in red.
1. The black box was splintered badly along one side to
show the original wood color.
2. There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr.
Summers declared the lottery open.
3. Part of the original ritual had been allowed to lapse.
4. Mr. Summers seemed very proper and important as he
talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins.
5. Mr. Adams went hastily back to his place in the crowd,
where he stood a little apart from his family.
6. Mrs. Dunbar greeted Mr. Summers gravely and
selected a slip of paper from the box.
“The Lottery” Symbolism
• Working in groups, you will present the
information.
• The class will complete a chart.
• I do NOT want you to read the information,
but to tell the class how the information
impacted your impression of the story.
Ancient Ritual Sacrifice
• In ancient Athens, Greece, Athenians believed that
human sacrifice promised fertile crops.
• Each year in ancient Athens, as one story goes, during the
annual festival called Thargelia, citizens would stone to
death a man and a woman selected for this purpose.
• Death is thought to bring prosperity to the community
• By transferring one's sins to persons or animals and then
sacrificing them, people believed that their sins would be
eliminated, a process that has been termed the "scapegoat"
archetype
• A similar ritual sacrifice occurs with Tessie Hutchinson.
• This explains the village member's remark, “Lottery in June,
corn be heavy soon.”
Ritual without meaning
• Because there has "always been a lottery“,
the villagers feel compelled to continue this
horrifying tradition.
• They focus, however, on its gruesome rather than
its symbolic nature, for they "still remembered to
use stones" even after they have "forgotten the ritual
and lost the original black box“.
• The story may be saying that humanity's
inclination toward violence overshadows
society's need for civilized traditions.
“Let he who is
without sin,
cast the first stone"
• “The Lottery” certainly alludes to Gospel of St.
John, 8:7, in which Jesus frees an adulterous
woman, directing the scribe/Pharisee who is
without sin to cast the first stone. No one throws
stones at her.
• Unfortunately, no one in “The Lottery” rebukes
the powers so forthrightly as Jesus does in John
8:7. Tessie becomes their scapegoat; she pays
for their sins.
Male vs. Female
• A conflict between male authority and female
resistance is subtly evident throughout “The
Lottery.”
• Early in the story, the boys make a great pile of
stones in one corner of the square, while the girls
stand aside talking among themselves, looking
over their shoulders at the boys.
• When Tessie draws the paper with the black
mark on it, Tessie does not show it to the
crowd; instead her husband Bill forces it
from her hand and holds it up.
Women’s roles
• Tessie Hutchinson defies the
concept of the passive and
selfless woman.
• Tessie's actions are decidedly unlike
the behavior expected of the ideal
wife and mother in the era. Tessie is
hardly self-sacrificing.
• She even jeopardizes her married
daughter by suggesting that she
join the Hutchinson family in the
final lottery drawing.
Women vs. Women
• At the beginning of the story, the girls stand
together watching the boys gather the stones, but
as those girls become women, the involvement in
marriage and childbearing that the lottery
encourages pits them against one another,
blinding them to the fact that all power in their
community is male.
• A most grievous betrayal of another woman occurs
when Tessie turns on her married daughter and
attempts to jeopardize her safety.
• Jackson emphasizes women's turning against one
another, too, through her pointed depiction of the
brutality of Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Graves in
setting upon Tessie.
Mob violence
• The heinous actions exhibited in groups (such
as the stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson) do not take
place on the individual level, for individually
such action would be deemed "murder."
• On the group level, people classify their heinous act
simply as "ritual."
• When Mrs. Hutchinson arrives at the ceremony
late, she chats sociably with Mrs. Delacroix.
Nevertheless, after Mrs. Hutchinson falls victim
to the lottery selection, Mrs. Delacroix chooses
a "stone so large" that she must pick it up with
both hands.
• Whereas, on the individual level, the two women
regard each other as friends, on the group level, they
betray that relationship, satiating the mob mentality.
Symbolism
• Stones are a universal symbol for punishment,
burial, and martyrdom: they indicate a morbid
ceremony.
• Chips of wood: now discarded for
slips of paper, suggest a preliterate/ancient
origin, like the ancient sacrificial rituals for crops.
• The setting: no specific name/place
indicates this is anytown, USA; the contrast of the town
with the ritual helps build suspense
• Square: (village square) may represent the
four corners of the earth—earthly opposed to heavenly;
human-created as opposed to natural; boxed in;
concealed.
Symbolism
• Black: the color for death, mourning,
punishment, penitence in western civilization.
• The black box used to draw lots and the slip of
paper with a black mark pointing out the
'winner' are mentioned too frequently to be
coincidental.
• Black box: coffin? Evil secret hidden away?
• Black spot on paper: sin? A “black mark” on
one’s record is negative; black mark: unclean?
Symbolism: Names
• Tessie Hutchinson: Most likely an
allusion to Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643),
American religious enthusiast who founded
the Puritan colony of Rhode Island. She had
new theological views which opposed her to
other ministers. After a local trial banished
her she was tried before the Boston Church
and formally excommunicated. Anne and
fifteen of her children were subsequently
murdered by the Indians in 1643.
• The parallelism between her story and Tessie's is
clear: to her, excommunication meant spiritual
death just as to Tessie being cast out from the
group = death.
Symbolism: Names
•Tessie Hutchinson:
• Anti-ritualAnn Hutchinson held that neither
church nor state was needed to connect a
believer to his or her God. (In the end, Tessie
rejects the lottery ritual, saying “it isn’t
right.”)
• Tessie, diminutive for Theresa, derives from the
Greek theizein, meaning “to reap”, or, if the
nickname is for Anastasia, it will translate literally
“of the resurrection”. (sacrifice for sins;
contrast with Delacroix—“of the cross.”)
Symbolism: Names
•Delacroix (“of-the-Cross”)
• vulgarized to Della-croy (no longer truly of the cross)
• Some critics suggest that Mrs. Delacroix
represents the duality of human nature: she is
pleasant and friendly on the outside, but
underneath she possesses a degree of savagery.
• Cross has many connotations crossroads (faced
with 2 directions); to cross something off; to be
angry; to cross over or to pass by; pass from one
side of to the other; to oppose, as in crossing one’s
path; a burden; combination of 2 elements; To
make or put a line across; To betray or deceive,
double-cross…
Symbolism: Names
•Summers:
the season of summer is
associated with youth, strength, growth, prime of
life, warmth, leisure, prosperity, happiness,
blooming, blossoming
• Mr. Summers is the head of the coal business, which could
symbolize close contacts with the underworld, evil; lurking
just beneath the surface.
• Coal is earthly (as opposed to heavenly); black; formed
in the process of many years (long-term process);
formed from compressed, decaying matter; early
chemistry used a black spot to symbolize coal.
• Marxist critics point out how Mr. Summers, who would
have been one of the wealthier citizens, leads the lottery—
those with money control the people’s activities.
Symbolism: Names
•Graves : the obvious grave = place of
entombment/death
• Mr. Graves quietly assists Mr. Summers, with
“Graves” hinting at a dark undertone.
• Grave = serious; hints that the lottery may not
be a frivolous contest (“Mr. Graves said gravely”)
• Critics have said that Jackson creates balance by
juxtaposing Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves to
share in the responsibilities of the ritual: Life
brings death, and death recycles life.
Symbolism: Names
•Adams : reference to the first man,
the first sinner
• While he seems to be one of the few who
questions the lottery when he mentions that
another village is thinking about giving up the
ritual, he stands at the front of the crowd when
the stoning of Tessie begins. Like the biblical
Adam, Adams goes along with the sin; he
follows others in their evil.
Symbolism: Names
•Old Man Warner: Resistant to
change and representing the old social
order, he warns about how important the
event is to the survival of the village.
• Old man Warner is 77 years old the
number 7 has many connotations, but one
common connotation is that 7 is lucky …he
has been lucky to avoid the lottery so many
times.
Symbolism: Names
•Martin : associated with Mars, the Roman
god of fertility and war. The following are just FYI:
• St. Martin: Patron of drunkards, to save them from
falling into danger. (The origin came from St. Martin’s
day coinciding with the feast of Bacchus, god of wine.)
• St. Martin’s goose. The 11th of November, St. Martin’s
Day, was at one time the great goose feast of France.
The legend is that St. Martin was annoyed by a goose,
which he ordered to be killed and served up for dinner.
He died after eating dinner, and a goose has been ever
since “sacrificed” to him on the anniversary.
• St. Martin’s bird is the raven, long associated with death and
departed spirits
Symbolism: Names
•Dunbar: breaking this name down into
its 2 syllables, one can come up with:
• 1. dun – to treat cruelly; or a dull, brownish gray
color
• 2. bar - Something that impedes or prevents
action or progress; relatively long, straight, rigid
piece of solid material used as a barrier, support,
or fastener; A standard, expectation, or degree of
requirement;
Historical Context
• After World War II America experienced a trend
toward general social conformity.
• People tended to imitate those around them rather than
follow their own separate paths.
• Encouraging this conformity was the spread of
television, which broadcast the same set of images
to Americans scattered through the country.
• Meanwhile, patriotic rhetoric dominated the public
mood in politics. Fears about fascist dictatorships and
communism, issues that had been highlighted by the warinduced paranoia and suspicion among seemingly
peaceful American communities.
• In the story, the townspeople are swept away by
the tide of conformity, and the lottery goes
ahead as always.
Foreshadowing…
• Setting is a peaceful village in summer; readers
expect the lottery to be a positive experience
• Some of the boys create a "great pile of stones in one
corner of the square."
• The men of the village arrive they stand away from
the stones, joke quietly, and smile instead of laugh.
• Since the lottery is to take only two hours, the villagers
plan to be home in time for lunch. (how can they eat after
this?)
• Mr. Summers, a cheerful man who conducts the
lottery ceremony, sets the tone of the event with
both his name and his casual behavior.
• The lottery takes place every year when the nature cycle
peaks in midsummer, a time usually associated with
joyfulness.
Historical Context
• By 1943 news of the Nazi concentration camps
had finally reached America.
• A number of Americans responded with horror and
concern that communities could have stood by and
silently allowed the Holocaust to occur.
• Jackson hints at a similar situation in her story
when the townspeople are unable to fully
question or prevent the brutal lottery
practice.
Historical/Sociological Context
• During World War II, Jews and other targeted groups
were torn from their communities and sent to their
death while the world stood by in silence.
• In “The Lottery,” Tessie is similarly suddenly
ostracized from and killed by members of her own
community.
• A few of the townspeople disagree with the ritual, but
they merely mutter their displeasure under their breath,
afraid to speak out more boldly against the practice.
• Not only do humans blindly perpetrate evil, the story
tells us, but they are also capable of closing their eyes
to and even participating in terrors that occur in their
midst.
POV:
rd
3
Person Objective
• There is very little conflict in the story—only
Tessie’s objections present any conflict at all.
• At the end of "The Lottery," the reader
discovers with horror what is about to happen,
but the story ends with the casting of the first
stones. Jackson prefers to leave the gruesome
details to the reader's imagination.
• The conflict occurs within the reader as
the reader notes foreshadowing in the story with
growing uneasiness
What is irony? Review?
• The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; a
statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the
appearance or presentation of the idea.
• Three kinds of irony are commonly recognized:
– Verbal irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning
of a statement differs from the meaning that the words appear to
express.
– Situational irony involves an incongruity between what is
expected or intended and what actually occurs.
– Dramatic irony is an effect produced by a narrative in which the
audience knows more about present or future circumstances
than a character in the story
Irony Activity
• Draw a vertical line down the middle of a
sheet of paper, making two columns.
• The left column will contain examples of
irony, and the right column will contain an
explanation of what makes that example
ironic.
– One of the first items in the left column might be from
the setting: the flowers are "blossoming profusely and
the grass [is] richly green."
– This is ironic because no one would expect
something awful to happen on a day like this: the
imagery sets the reader up to expect happy events.
Irony Activity
Examples of Irony
• Setting: the flowers are
"blossoming profusely
and the grass [is] richly
green.”.
Why is it ironic
• This is ironic because no
one would expect
something awful to
happen on a day like this:
the imagery sets the
reader up to expect
happy events.
Irony Examples
• Have students work individually, in pairs,
or in small groups to identify examples of
irony throughout the story. Once they are
done, point out to them any examples they
may have missed.
Discussion Questions
1. What preparations were made for the lottery?
2. Cite examples of foreshadowing that hints at what is
going to occur?
3. What paraphernalia was used in the lottery?
4. Why, according to the story, is the lottery carried on?
5. “The Lottery” is obviously not a realistic story. So, what
points are being made?
6. Guess what the possible prize for the Lottery could be if
it is held in all of the neighboring towns.
Tuesday Warm-UP
Of the following four sentences, which gives the topic or general idea and
which statements give specific details? Mark ‘G’ for general and ‘S’ for
specific or supporting. Remember, there can be only one main idea.
1. ________There are practice sessions twice a day
2. ________ When the players are not practicing in the evenings, they’re
watching game videos and studying playbooks.
3. ______ Attending a basketball camp requires a lot of dedication to the game.
4. ____In between practice sessions, there are drills and exercises to be done.
Use “The Lottery” Vocabulary to fill in the blanks.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
On Friday afternoon, the ___________students left school happily.
The __________ of NC is supposed to give money to schools.
As the student walked across the stage at graduation, her former
teacher ___________ with obvious pride and joy.
He never loses his optimism, and does everything with _________.
______ of the rain forests has contributed to global warming.
The frightened child __________ to the hand of its mother in the
crowded village square.
The adolescent spoke __________ to the hitting instructor during
baseball practice and was reprimanded by the coach..
The students attending the dance left all of their ____________
including their shoes and book bags in the theater.
His clothes were ___________ and he was ashamed of his poverty.
Paraphernalia, Boisterous, Fade, Shabby, Inevitable, Assemble, Enthusiasm
Exploitation , Petulantly, Clung, Daintily, Lapse, Lottery, Beamed
Video
1. What was surprising about the video?
2. What details were different from the
original story?
3. How does the poor film quality add to the
mood?
4. What actions enhance the suspense?
Themes
• Not all rituals are beneficial, positive or
civilized
• Acts of violence, hatred, murder are not
acceptable just because many people participate
• Traditions and rituals should be questioned;
group mentality can be harmful
• People are not all good or all evil but a mixture of
both.
• Many more ideas/themes can be applied to
“The Lottery”
“The Lottery”:
More than you expected, right…?
TEST-Block One
• Do not answer the essay.
• When you have finished:
• Group A - Word Within the Word
– Complete pages 3-7
– You must write on your own paper.
• Group B – Classical Roots
– Complete the worksheet that I gave you
– Create a questions to review for your vocabulary.
– I will be making a jeopardy, or some other type of game.
I will be calling you back to conference on your research project.
“The Lottery”:
More than you expected, right…?
End of presentation.
(Finally)