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The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Terms in this set (24)

Tessie Hutchinson
loser of the lottery who is stoned to death
Old Man Warner
oldest man in village-77 years old. Doesn't want to stop holding the lotteries
Mr. Summers
conducts the lottery. Jovial yet unlike his light-hearted name, owns a dark coal company.
Bill Hutchinson
firsts draws the marked paper. fully willing to show that Tessie has the marked card.
Mr. Graves
postmaster and helps Summers with the lottery. His dark name foreshadows the dark ending of the book.
Setting
June 27th- summer. 10 AM. small village.
How many people live in the village?
300
Themes
Danger of blindly following traditions, randomness of persecution
Motifs
family (all together when gathered for lottery but when person chosen, family goes against one another and kills each other) and rules (lottery has a lot of rules that are both followed and disregarded)
Symbols
black box (tradition of lottery is illogical, keeping the shabby old box is illogical) and the lottery (represents action, behavior, or idea that is passed from generations and is followed unquestioningly, not matter how illogical or cruel)
What were the children doing in the beginning of the story?
collecting stones
Stereotype
men talking of work and taxes; women talking of gossip. men go up to get the paper, then old boy, and then the woman.
Allusions
Dickie Delacroix, Tessie Hutchinson, Adams, North Village
When was this book written?
1946
Who is the author?
Shirley Jackson
Which traditions have been kept?
keeping the shabby old black box, asking questions formally of who is grabbing the paper, and using stones to murder the winner. Lists of heads of households and members
Which traditions have not been kept?
Using wood chips in the box, having a chant and salute,
Who is late for the lottery?
Tessie Hutchinson
Who was the only women who had to draw? Why?
Mrs. Dunbar because Mr. Dunbar broke his foot
How old is Old Man Warner?
77 years old
Who has quit lotteries? What allusion does this have?
North Village. In early America the South didn't want to change their ways but the north progressed
Who were the Hutchinson's children?
Bill Jr. Nancy and Dave
What did the card have on it if you won the lottery?
A black dot
Foreshadowing
Kids collecting stones, Tessie's late arrival shows she has significance, Watson boy is drawling (father died last yr?), crowd grows nervous, holds breaths, when Hutchinson wins Tessie says it isn't fair
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