The Lottery Questions on Old Man Warner

The Lottery

The lottery in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" serves as a ritualistic tradition meant to ensure a bountiful harvest. Its significance lies in its critique of blind adherence to tradition, as the...

8 educator answers

The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the protagonist is Tessie Hutchinson, who ultimately becomes the victim of the town's brutal ritual. The antagonist is the collective village, which blindly...

28 educator answers

The Lottery

Although "The Lottery" begins with positive imagery, characters such as Old Man Warner begin to shift the tone as the story develops. Old Man Warner, a character who resists change, is the central...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

In "The Lottery," villagers display a range of interpretations, feelings, and behaviors regarding the lottery tradition. Some accept it unquestioningly, seeing it as a necessary ritual, while others...

6 educator answers

The Lottery

The names in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" carry significant symbolism and allusions. Bentham likely references Jeremy Bentham, highlighting utilitarianism's theme of sacrificing one for the...

15 educator answers

The Lottery

The original purpose of the lottery in the story was to ensure a good harvest by sacrificing a member of the community, based on the belief that such a ritual would bring prosperity. The townspeople...

8 educator answers

The Lottery

The phrase "lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," according to Old Man Warner, suggests that the annual lottery ensures a bountiful harvest. It implies a belief in a ritualistic human sacrifice to...

10 educator answers

The Lottery

The town in "The Lottery" has been holding the lottery for at least a couple of hundred years. Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, mentions that "there's always been a lottery," and even the...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

It is ironic when Old Man Warner calls villagers who have abolished the lottery "crazy fools" because, in reality, those villagers are rational and progressive. The irony lies in the fact that Old...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Old Man Warner symbolizes the blind adherence to tradition and resistance to change. As the oldest villager, having survived 77 lotteries, he staunchly defends the...

7 educator answers

The Lottery

The author's portrayal of the townspeople in "The Lottery" depicts them as ordinary individuals who are disturbingly complacent and complicit in a brutal tradition. Despite their normal, everyday...

8 educator answers

The Lottery

One of the most elemental inferences that can be drawn from Old Man Warner's statements in "The Lottery" is that the town's tradition has gone on for some time without much in way of questioning....

1 educator answer

The Lottery

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" explores the central theme of the dangers of blindly following tradition. The story depicts a small town's annual ritual where a random citizen is stoned to death,...

17 educator answers

The Lottery

"The Lottery" highlights the dangers of blindly following tradition, demonstrating how societal norms can perpetuate violence and injustice. The story reveals how individuals can become complicit in...

5 educator answers

The Lottery

In the Shirley Jackson story "The Lottery," the townspeople conduct the lottery annually out of tradition. Apparently towns nearby conduct similar annual events without question to the ethics or...

4 educator answers

The Lottery

Old Man Warner is a staunch traditionalist and a hard-core conservative. He has been in the lottery 77 times over 77 years and has never drawn the slip with the black mark from the box. If he had...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the author criticizes the blind adherence to tradition through the depiction of a brutal, senseless ritual in a small village. Jackson illustrates the villagers'...

9 educator answers

The Lottery

There are three reasons why Old Man Warner does not want to give up the Lottery.  First, Old Man Warner actually believes that the Lottery is good for the town. Twice he calls young people a...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

This village hasn't given up on the practice of the lottery because it has always been done. This story's purpose is to illustrate the ineffectiveness of some of life's traditions. This village...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

When I think of the phrase "resistance to change," I automatically think of two different sections of this brilliant and chilling short story. The first is the section where Old Man Warner is...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

Old Man Warner in "The Lottery" embodies staunch traditionalism and resistance to change. He is fiercely loyal to the lottery, viewing it as a necessary tradition for the town's well-being and...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

The townspeople of the novel are convinced that the lottery is necessary for good luck, although they have no evidence to support this belief. They are convinced by the tradition and believe that it...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

The lottery is an ancient and sacred tradition, the purpose of which has been forgotten over time. It's a scapegoat ritual, but it isn't always clear that the villagers choose Tessie because they...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

"The Lottery" is a wonderfully dark short story published in 1948 by Shirley Jackson. One of the major themes present in the story is a theme about tradition. Specifically, the theme shows readers...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

In some ways, it does seem that Jackson is trivializing the lottery.  There are two points where this becomes clear.  First, no one really knows why there is a lottery.  If the...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," mob mentality is central to the story, illustrating how individuals blindly follow tradition without questioning its morality. The villagers in the story...

6 educator answers

The Lottery

Part of the eeriness of the story is that people are following blind tradition. They have no idea why they do what they do. They are powerless to change it. They just accept it. Moreover, their...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

Old Man Warner and Mr. Summers are the most tied in to the custom of the lottery. They revile change, and seem to represent the classic Puritan culture of tradition, stern adherence to...

3 educator answers

The Lottery

The lottery prevents societal breakdown by maintaining tradition and social order. It influences community norms through its ritualistic nature, reinforcing conformity and obedience among the...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

Old Man Warner, in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," is told by Mr. Adams that a village to the north is talking about giving up the lottery. Warner states that the other villagers are nothing but...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

In Jackson's story, the village is designed around a condition where the insiders exist at the cost of the outsiders. This dynamic of "us vs. them" permeates every aspect of life in The Lottery....

1 educator answer

The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the townspeople prepare for the annual lottery by gathering in the town square, with children collecting stones and adults assembling to await Mr. Summers and Mr....

2 educator answers

The Lottery

The readers learns that the townspeople don't know the purpose of the lottery.

1 educator answer

The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the scapegoat concept is crucial as it allows the villagers to channel their blame and violence without guilt. This ancient ritual, akin to the biblical scapegoat,...

3 educator answers

The Lottery

The villagers speak in different ways, from the matter-of-fact to the vicious. Those who submit to tradition and majority rule are guilt-ridden; those who question are ignored, rebuked, and...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

Old Man Warner is symbolic of the "old ways" of the town, when no one questioned the lottery's benefits (or supposed benefits).  He is of the belief that the lottery has always been and should...

2 educator answers

The Lottery

Warner is referred to in the story as "Old Man Warner," which indicates how he is viewed in the community. He seems to be the oldest person there, and when he first speaks, he responds...

1 educator answer

The Lottery

It is ironic because the lottery is a senseless, barbaric ritual. It makes perfect sense to stop having a lottery. It is really Old Man Warner's stubbornness that shows real irony.  Jackson...

1 educator answer