The Lottery Group at eNotes

Who are the main central characters other than Mr.Summers, Tess...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:24:28 PST

Who are the main central characters other than Mr.Summers, Tess Hutchinton, and Old Man Warner? How would you characterize the plot?

This seems like a strange pairing. One could argue that both possess a...

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:51:32 PST

This seems like a strange pairing. One could argue that both possess a female character who is dominated by others and must choose to stand up for herself or die (in "The Lottery," it would be physical death, in "Sweat" it is more of an emotional death). Another similarity is the town's involvement or lack of it. In "The Lottery," while all the townspeople must show up for the drawing, they really don't want to be a part of it. They want...

If you are asking what a thesis statement of the story itself is,...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:50:09 PST

If you are asking what a thesis statement of the story itself is, realize there are many. This story contains implicit, or implied, thesis statements, but it does not contain an explicit one. This is often the case when the story means something more than its surface meaning. Some of the implied thesis statements might be, "Humans often treat each other very inhumanly." Another might be that "Tradition followed blindly can become...

Can you please give me a thesis statement for the story "The Lottery" by...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:01:31 PST

Can you please give me a thesis statement for the story "The Lottery" by Shirley jackson?

I have not seen the movie, but I imagine the pros of reading the short...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:24:00 PST

I have not seen the movie, but I imagine the pros of reading the short story are similar to other situations comparing the written work to the filmed version. When you read, you form pictures in your mind of the characters and setting. When you watch a movie, you see other people's conception of the same things. While this can be interesting, I find it also tends to disrupt the images I have already formed. If I see the movie first, I have a...

What are the pros and cons of reading "The Lottery" as compared to...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:04:07 PST

What are the pros and cons of reading "The Lottery" as compared to watching the movie?

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", the technical climax or the part...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:34:35 PST

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", the technical climax or the part where the narrative takes a dramatic turn is when Tessie states, "You didn't give him enough time to pick the one he wanted. I saw you. It isn't fair" At this point, we know that the lottery is definitely not something that we want to win. The dramatic climax is likely when the townspeople begin to pick up the stones after Tessie "won". Now we know what those rocks...

In story "The Lottery", what is the technical and dramatic climax?...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:36:35 PST

In story "The Lottery", what is the technical and dramatic climax? What is the resolution and the theme of this story?

The lottery itself is a symbol of several things - blind conformity to...

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:31:19 PST

The lottery itself is a symbol of several things - blind conformity to social expectations, empty rituals, the scapegoat syndrome (needing someone to be 'guilty' for collective fault). The minor characters in the play are also "stock characters," representing types. Even the main characters remain "flat" as they really don't change throughout the story line. Check out the eNotes references below for more details concernig each of these...

The biggest symbols are the stone gathered by the children (which come...

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 20:09:06 PST

The biggest symbols are the stone gathered by the children (which come into play in the end) and the pieces of paper. One slip has a black spot, signifying death. The person who gets the black spot is stoned to death by the townspeople. The reason for the person dying is to help the crops grow. The death symbolizes the rebirth, a sacrifice needed to ensure the return of the harvest. Another symbol to consider is the victim. Tessie is a major...

What are the symbols in "The Lottery" and why are they significant?

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 19:47:56 PST

What are the symbols in "The Lottery" and why are they significant?

I'm not sure what a poetry example would be, but in my opinion the key...

Tue, 2 Jun 2009 12:50:31 PST

I'm not sure what a poetry example would be, but in my opinion the key theme of "The Lottery" has nothing to do with the stoning, per se. The theme is that people can blindly adhere to stupid/evil customs and beliefs just because things have "always been done that way." The stoning is secondary to the fact that the people of the village routinely follow a custom that they know is going to result in a death to one of them.

"The Stoning of Darragh" is my choice of a poem with a similar theme as...

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 19:29:21 PST

"The Stoning of Darragh" is my choice of a poem with a similar theme as "The Lottery."

You might get a couple of different answers to this question because...

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 08:00:59 PST

You might get a couple of different answers to this question because after the infusion of Islam in the American culture there have been at least 5 new poems published dealing with stoning from both amateur and published poets. As far as classical poetry I can think of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The death of Œnone" and Tomas Boyd's "The Stoning of Darragh" are two that jump to mind when dealing with barbaric rituals, expectators, and...

which poem has the same theme with "the lottery"?

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 00:26:32 PST

which poem has the same theme with "the lottery"?

Early civilizations attributed the evil of their society symbolically to...

Tue, 26 May 2009 21:35:21 PST

Early civilizations attributed the evil of their society symbolically to one member of the group, either human or animal. This creature was then killed so that the society could be rid of evil, thus allowing a better future for those who are left. In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the black spot, then, is the mark of evil; the paper is contained in a black wooden box in which the ballots were made the night before and the spot made with...

"The Lottery" is a story about death. In a larger sense, it a story...

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:36:14 PST

"The Lottery" is a story about death. In a larger sense, it a story about a communal murder- the darkness and foreboding storm refer to what is going on on the underside. Yes, it is June 27- a beautiful summer day, but there is darkness and death abounding. The old box that holds the slips of paper is beaten up and black. All the papers are white, but one holds the dark black spot- the one that signifies death. Even the men conducting...

Why are there allusions to darkness in "The Lottery"?

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:30:32 PST

Why are there allusions to darkness in "The Lottery"?

The character Tessie Hutchinson is the unfortunate winner in Shirley...

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:28:51 PST

The character Tessie Hutchinson is the unfortunate winner in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery". She is the sacrificial lamb, the one chosen to atone for the "sins" of the community for the year. She has done nothing wrong, but is simply the one selected by being the receiver of the black spot. Another view that I have read many times is that the name Hutchinson is a allusion to Anne Hutchinson, the Rhode Island religious leader and resister...

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", the conversation takes on an ironic...

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:15:36 PST

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", the conversation takes on an ironic tone in at least two places. One is the commonplace tone of the talk of taxes and everyday life when a death is imminent. Perhaps more ironic is that Mr. and Mrs. Adams casually suggest that it may be time for the community to quit lotteries with one of them even adding that some communities have already quit. They are, of course, opposed by Old Man Warner who says there...