... of the men being casual and cheerful as they might be at a town gathering she says that "their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed." This makes the distinction that the men might be putting up a front rather than being completely comfortable with the situation. When the women gather next to their husbands they have a hard time calling their children. The children are extremely reluctant to join the gathering with ... to draw in his place and is reluctant stating "I guess" instead of volunteering readily. Mr. Summers then asks if she has anyone else in the family who can...

• Word Count: 1119
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... of the men being casual and cheerful as they might be at a town gathering she says that "their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed." This makes the distinction that the men might be putting up a front rather than being completely comfortable with the situation. When the women gather next to their husbands they have a hard time calling their children. The children are extremely reluctant to join the gathering with ... to draw in his place and is reluctant stating "I guess" instead of volunteering readily. Mr. Summers then asks if she has anyone else in the family who can...

• Word Count: 1053
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... that children do. Some of the children are gathering stones from the surrounding are and forming a mound of them together. Soon the men and women arrive, bringing with them a less jovial tone. The villagers make small talk laughing quietly amongst one another while at the same time maintaining a slight seriousness. Jackson makes some use of foreshadowing early in the story by mentioning the pile of stones and the way the older characters distance themselves from ... nature to feel guilt when one takes part in actions such as those illustrated in the story. Whenever the uneasiness begins...

• Word Count: 822
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Men of each family must pick a slip of paper from a black box. These slips of paper will determine the fate of the lottery and also of a family. One message the author may be conveying to the reader is that blindly following traditions could be fatal. Throughout the story the author uses irony to shock the reader at the tale's conclusion. Jackson twists the concept of a "lottery" as well as the behaviour of the participants in the game of ... action in the story is from the children of the village. Early in the story the children are described to be gathering small rock and pebbles. Reade...

• Word Count: 1411
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Men of each family must pick a slip of paper from a black box. These slips of paper will determine the fate of the lottery and also of a family. One message the author may be conveying to the reader is that blindly following traditions could be fatal. Throughout the story the author uses irony to shock the reader at the tale's conclusion. Jackson twists the concept of a "lottery" as well as the behaviour of the participants in the game of ... action in the story is from the children of the village. Early in the story the children are described to be gathering small rock and pebbles. Reade...

• Word Count: 1411
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books, and reprimands" (Jackson). Jackson describes the characters to be very normal people. The girls are looking over at the boys, the men are talking about crops, and the women are gossiping and calling their children together. The reader still has no idea that the gathering is destructive. "The setting could easily be for a town picnic or an ... Mr. Summers stirred up the papers inside it"(Jackson). "This hint of trouble is carefully countered by the way that Jackson describes the next set of e...

• Word Count: 1163
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to be no different than most rural communities. The story begins very light-hearted but has a surprising ending. The people of the town are gathering to determine whose life will be sacrificed by randomly selecting pieces of paper from a black box. Jackson said the purpose of the story was "to shock the story's readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives ... . The children are even involved, gathering stones for the beating. This symbolizes how de-sensitized a society becomes after being exposed to senseless violence for such a...

• Word Count: 963
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... theme of the story is evident, and the implication is that the stoning of a human being is a sacrifice to the vegetation gods who each year bring back life to the flowers and fields-(36-37). This idea would be, at first, overlooked by the reader, however, Jackson says the men began to gather "speaking of planting and rain-(138). Also, when some of the village people start talking about giving up the lottery Old Man ... much trouble and damaged crops. Halloween has always been associated with evil, pagan acts. The last important role in analyzing the setting of "The Lottery- is Jackson's...

• Word Count: 1114
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... normal town has these buildings, which are essential for day-to-day functioning. The townspeople also establish a normal, comfortable setting for the story. The children are doing what all-typical kids do, playing boisterously and gathering rocks. The women of the town are doing what all-stereotypical females do, "exchanging bits of gossip." The men are being average males by chatting about boring day-to-day tasks like " ... all-- they"re simply following an ancient ritual. The lesson in this story hits pretty hard. The Lottery's relationship to real life is that sometimes we are presente...

• Word Count: 926
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... many lotteries the people of this town have grown immune to the horror of killing a fellow citizen. The idea that a society could ever become so sadistic is unnerving. Jackson also creates a thick layer of suspense by keeping the intent of the lottery a secret to the end of the story. The beginning of the story goes into intricate detail describing the way the people gather and what they do after arriving in the square. However, the purpose of this gathering in never ... is the black box that they draw the tickets from. This box represents the traditions of the town and the sole purpose...

• Word Count: 654
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... : 268-273) Little Davy Hutchinson is the person by whom Shirley Jackson shows that the importance of the lottery surpasses any one person, even the relationship between a mother and a little boy. The story opens on a "clear and sunny" summer morning. Davy and the children are seen gathering stones, placing them in big piles on each corner of the square. The boys choose the "roundest and smoothest stones" (268) to ... part of their lives as "the square dances, the teen-age club, the Halloween program" (268). Even though they do not remember the origins or purpose of the lottery, the tradit...

• Word Count: 845
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... when something works or when it does not affect them in a specific way. Zachary Barnett writes, " the whole point of the fable is to make grotesquely clear man's absurd fear of change" ("Review of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery"). In the story, Old Man Warner, a seventy-seven year old man, quickly counter-attacks Mr. and Mrs. Adams when they begin to converse about towns who had ... Martin all seem to hold highly credible roles in society, nonetheless they seem to hold similar roles in the tradition of the lottery. Mr. Summers, one of the wealthiest men in town and the owner of the coal c...

• Word Count: 1116
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School