English 12 – Short Story Unit – Empey
“The Lottery”, and “The Destructors” Essay Topics
The first two stories we have read, “The Lottery”, and “The Destructors”, are interesting because they
both contain characters whose actions place them outside what we would consider normal boundaries of
acceptable behavior. Using these stories as your basis, choose one (1) of the following essay topics to explore:
Expository Topics
1. Explain the differences between our stereotypical view of the townspeople in “The Lottery”, and their actions
at the end of the story.
2. Using evidence from the story and our class discussions to support your ideas, explain Old Man Warner’s
claim that the contemporary society and people are different (i.e. not as good) as those of the past. How have
people’s attitudes toward the Lottery changed over the years? How has the Lottery itself changed?
3. Using carefully-chosen evidence from both stories, describe how the moral codes at work in them differ from
those of our society.
4. Explain how growing up in a violent and combative environment seems to have changed the basic moral and
ethical codes of the boys in the Wormsley Common Gang.
5. Explain how wartime destruction (especially the random destruction that comes with carpet bombing) can be
said to be both intensely personal and totally impersonal, all at the same time.
Persuasive Topics
1. Write an essay that attempts to prove to “The Lottery”’s characters that their continued following of this
particular tradition is morally, ethically, and scientifically unsound.
2. Write an essay that replies to Tessie’s cry that “it isn’t fair… it isn’t right”. Using evidence from the story,
create an argument that attempts to prove to her that what is happening to her is indeed, fair and right, from
the perspective of her society.
3. Explain why T’s destruction of Mr. Thomas’ house is actually more about creation than destruction.
4. Using an authoritative (dictionary) definition of the term, explain why T could be labeled a psychopath.
Or?
If you have an alternative topic that you would like to explore concerning these 2 stories please come and see
me.
Essay Formatting Requirements
Font and size
Spacing
Margins
Title Page
Indent Size
Arial, Times, Calibri, Garamond (or similar); size 10 - 12
Double
1-inch all round
Separate sheet; includes essay title, student name, class, and teacher name
1 Tab in from the left margin