The Lottery
By Shirley Jackson
Vocabulary Words
1. Profusely [adverb]—abundantly; in large
amounts
The flowers were blossoming profusely
1st
Paragraph First Sentence
2. Boisterous [adjective]- Loud, Noisy and
active
They tended to gather together quietly for a while before
they broke into boisterous play.
2nd
Paragraph First Sentence
3. Reprimands [n]- Criticisms; tongue-lashing;
scolding
And their talk was still of the classroom and teacher, of
books and reprimands.
2nd
Paragraph Second Sentence
4. Reluctantly [adv]-Unwillingly
Began calling their children, and the children came reluctantly,
3rd
Paragraph Third Sentence
5. Jovial [adj]-Happily; Jolly
He was a round-faced, jovial man and ran the coal
business
Description of Mr. Joe Summers
4th
Paragraph First Sentence
6. Paraphernalia-Stuff used for a particular
activity; Personal belongings
The original paraphernalia for the lottery had
been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put
into use even before the old-man Warner,
the oldest man in town, was born.
5th
Paragraph First Sentence
7. Ritual [n]- Ceremonial or traditional
practices
Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten
or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper
substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations.
6th
Paragraph First Sentence
Others believed that he was supposed to walk among the
people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed
to lapse
7th Paragraph Third Sentence
There had been, also a ritual salute
7th
Paragraph Fourth Sentence
Although the Villagers had forgotten the ritual and
lost the original black box, they still remembered to use the stones.
8. Perfunctory [adj]- careless
Some people remember there had been a recital of some
sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless
chant that had been rattled off duly
7th
Paragraph Second Sentence
9. Lapse [v]- Decline; end without being
renewed
Others believed that he was supposed to walk among the
people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to
lapse
7th Paragraph Third Sentence
10.
Interminably
[adv] -Endlessly
Mr. Summers was very good at all this; in
his clean white shirt and blue jeans. With one hand resting carelessly on the
black box, he seemed very on the black box, he seemed very proper and important
as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins.
7th Paragraph Fourth Sentence
11.
Gravely
[adv]-Seriously
Mr. Summers gravely and selected a
slip of paper from the box.
15th Paragraph First Sentence
12.
Petulantly
[adv]- irritable
There’s always been a lottery, he added
petulantly.
16th Paragraph Third Sentence
13.
Defiantly
[adv]-Rebelliously
Mr. Summers said. She hesitated for a minute, looking around defiantly.
22nd Paragraph Third Sentence
14.
Fade [v]—To lose brightness, loudness, or
brilliance gradually; dim
The women, wearing faded [adj] house
dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their men folk.
3rd Paragraph Third Sentence
Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers
began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade
of without anything’s being done.
5th Paragraph fourth Sentence
Completely black but splinter badly along
one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or
stained.
5th Paragraph fifth Sentence
15.
Shabby
[adj]-Showing signs of wear and tear; threadbare worn-out
The black box grew shabbier each year.
5th Paragraph Second Sentence
16.
Assemble [v]-To bring or to call together into
group or whole
The Children assembled first, of Course.
2nd
Paragraph First Sentence
Just as Mr. Summer finally left off talking and turned to
the assembled villagers.
8th
Paragraph First Sentence
17. Petulantly [adv]-with unreasonable
irritation
There’s always been a lottery,” he added petulantly.” Bad enough to see
young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody.”
16th
Paragraph Fourth Sentence
18. Clung [v]-held tightly
The girls stood aside, talking among themselves, looking
over their shoulders at rolled in the dust or clung to the hands of
their older brothers or sisters.
2nd
Paragraph Third Sentence
19. Daintily—delicately, in a lady-like fashion
She hesitated for a minute, looking around defiantly
22 Paragraph Third
Sentences
20.
Lottery
[n]-a contest in which tickets are distributed or sold; the winning ticket or
tickets are selected in a chance drawing
The Story
21.
Beamed
[n]
Nancy and Bill Jr. Opened theirs at the same time and
both beamed and laughed.
23rd
Paragraph Second Sentence
Literary Elements
Irony—when what
actually occurs is the opposite of what you might expect to happen
The irony of the lottery; one might think the person who
wins gets a wonderful prize. However,
Shirley Jackson sets the tone of the story and she makes you feel weary about
the lottery.
For example: The
pile of Stones is gathered for this lottery
The women are not dressed their best
The younger children cling to their older brother or sisters.
The murmur conversation
among villagers.
Mrs. Hutchinson also called the whole thing not fair
Theme-the main
message of the story
If something doesn’t seem right change and be careful for
what a person might wish for.
Mr. Adams spoke
and said some towns did away with the lottery, because it was pointless and the
out- come of the lottery is painful.
Foreshadowing-the
use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later
1.
Pile of stones
2.
The way the women dressed
3.
The children were afraid
4.
Some said, Please let it not be Nancy
5.
Mr. Adams said some town did away the lottery
and only Old man Warner said its tradition
6.
Mrs. Hutchinson said its not right
Getting Things
Straight
1. What
is the mood or atmosphere in the first paragraph? [Surroundings]
Described as a beautiful day as the weather being warm
2. Why
was everyone assembled in the Square?
The Village Traditional lottery held every June 27th First Paragraph
3. What were the boys playing with?
The stones Second Paragraph
4. What
is the setting of the story? Are there many details that are not
specified?
The setting is the Village Square where the villagers’
for the lottery: It clearly states the
village square in the first paragraph
5. Predict:
What do you think the black box is for?
To hold the blank pieces of paper all but the one with
black spot that was penciled in by Mr. Joe Summer Paragraph 6
6. From whose point of view is the
story being told? [Who do you think is
telling the story?]
The Narrator-the opening paragraph explains the Day of
June 27 the day of Lottery when all the villagers gather in the square to
conduct the town ritual. First paragraph
is very narrative Just as the second explaining. The children were first to
assemble in the square due being excused from School.
7. Why didn’t people want to replace the box?
The shabby box represents traditions. Paragraph 5
8. How long do you think the lottery has been
around for?
In paragraph 5 we know Old man Warner was the oldest man
in the village and in paragraph 16 it states Old man Warner’s age was 77 years old.
In paragraph 6 Slips of paper where substituted for the
wood chips due to the growing population of the village.
The tradition would be at least over a hundred years old.
9. Who directs the Lottery?
By Mr. Joe Summer Paragraph 4.
10. What Happened with Mrs. Hutchinson? Who are two women she talks to?
She was late for the lottery Paragraph 8
Mrs. Delacroix Paragraph 8
Mrs. Graves
11. What will happen because Clyde Dunbar broke
his leg?
He is excused from participating in the lottery. Mrs. Dunbar must take his place, because her
son Horace is not quite 16 years old. So
regretfully she must take her husband’s place.
Paragraph 10 & 11
12. Predict:
·
What do
you think the lottery is for?
In the Lottery it talks about the harvest. Paragraph 1
Old man Warner states if the lottery doesn’t go through
people will end up eating chickweed and acorns.
Paragraph 16
I believe if the town had one lesson person to feed. There would be enough food to get through the
winter.
·
Do you
think it is a positive thing or a negative thing? Why? [3-4]
It’s a negative thing, murder
is murder. The town’s people even though
somber, the village tries to make light of the negative and they were all
afraid. Especially the children were not
counted out of the lottery.
Negative-Murder-Death
13.
How
does old man Warner respond to talk about giving up the lottery?
Old man Warner who is 77 years
old is against the idea of doing away with the lottery and it is a tradition
that has been around for a long time. He
feels the young want to go back to caveman times and nobody wants to work. Paragraph 16
14.
What
does he say is the reason or purpose of the lottery?
To prevent starvation—we’d all
go back to eating chickweed and acorns.
Paragraph 16
15.
What
does he say will happen without a lottery?
Nothing but trouble Paragraph
16
16.
Who
got the lottery ticket?
Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson
Paragraph 23
17.
How
does the Wife respond?
It isn’t fair Paragraph 26
·
Who does
she think should be included in her family?
Don and Eva Mrs. Hutchinson
yelled. ----Eva is her oldest
daughter. Paragraph 19
18.
Predict again:
·
Do you
think people want to pick the lottery ticket?
No the people do not want to
pick the lottery ticket. Two fine
examples clearly stated: Mrs. Janey
Dunbar regretfully steps in for her husband
Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson makes
excuse of being late to the lottery and she says it isn’t fair four times in
the story.
·
Why?
Because in the end someone’s
life gets taken away because of a bad tradition to sacrifice
a person to secure extra food.
19.
What do all the Hutchinson Kids have to do
now?
Bill Jr., Nancy and Little
Davis also have to draw from the box. Even
though they are children, they are not excluded from the lottery.
Paragraph 21
20.
What
have the Villagers not forgotten?
Although the villagers had
forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remember to
use the stones.
Paragraph 25
21.
What do Mrs. Hutchinson and Mrs. Dunbar start
to do?
Mrs. Hutchinson states it
isn’t fair, she is in the center of the Square and Mrs. Dunbar is gasping for
air trying to catch up her husband to stone Mrs. Hutchinson to death.
22.
What
happens to Mrs. Hutchinson at the End?
A Stone hits her on the side
of the head. Even the village hands her
son Little Davis little pebbles to participate in the stoning of his mother.
It isn’t fair right Mrs.
Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.
Essential
Questions:
·
If the
majority of the people are doing something, does it make it right?
Depends what it
is. For example: Haiti just had
earthquake. It is a poor country and
people assembled together to raise money to help the people in need of assistance.
The Lottery on the
other hand doesn’t make it right. The
result is murder, yet this village continues a negative tradition.
·
Can good
people do evil things?
Yes, good people
can do evil things, in the story of the Lottery, town is filled with wonderful
people however, and they have continued an evil tradition of gathering people
to see who gets scarf iced.
·
What
keeps a society or community together?
The people such as
the Postmaster, the Grocer, the school, and the coal business—the jobs of the
community
·
What
purpose do rituals and traditions serve in a society?
Christmas is
example of traditions. It brings
families together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
However, in the
Lottery this tradition has a negative effect on the town. As the Villagers gather they are somber, even
the children or frighten
The girls stood aside, talking among
themselves, looking over their shoulders at rolled in the dust or clung to the
hands of their older brothers or sisters.
Which states they
are just as scared as the adults? They
are not excused from the lottery
Bill Jr. Nancy and
Little Davis also had to draw from the Black Box.
·
Why do
people sometimes engage in pointless violence and in humanity?
Some People
convince it is part of a religion: for example: the radical Muslims convince
other Muslims to engage in violence to go to heaven. If a person is not Muslim they do not have a
right to live.
