Download
1 / 21
210 likes | 222 Vues
Suspense/Mystery. The Lottery Supplemental Lit. Literary Terms. *irony – an unexpected, mocking twist symbolism – when people/objects have a separate meaning; usually associated with emotions or ideas Tone – the attitude of the author in the story
E N D
Suspense/Mystery The Lottery Supplemental Lit.
Literary Terms • *irony – an unexpected, mocking twist • symbolism – when people/objects have a separate meaning; usually associated with emotions or ideas • Tone – the attitude of the author in the story • Mood – the feeling that is given (or intended to be given) to the reader
Literary Terms • Satire - a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule • Allegory – an extended metaphor where the whole story means something other than the literal meaning
Important Ideas Central to the Story • Ritual - any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner • Sacrifice - the offering of animal, plant, or human life or of some material possession to a deity, as in propitiation or homage • Probability - the relative possibility that an event will occur, as expressed by the ratio of the number of actual occurrences to the total number of possible occurrences
Important Ideas Central to the Story • Scapegoat – (1) Chiefly Biblical: a goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head; (2) a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place
Vocabulary Terms • boisterous - (adj) noisy and active • Paraphernalia – (n) equipment • Inevitable – (adj) unable to be avoided, evaded, or escaped; certain; necessary • Reprimand – (n) a severe reproof or rebuke, esp. a formal one by a person in authority • Liberty – (n) freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control • Exploitation – (n) use or utilization, esp. for profit
Allegory • “The Lottery” is a metaphor for the senseless violence that occurs each and every day throughout the world. Every day, people are victimized, abused, neglected, tortured, etc. – often while friends, neighbors, bystanders, or even the world stands aside and watches. The story was influenced by the Holocaust, in which hundreds of thousands were slaughtered, seemingly at random while many so many stood by and did nothing.
Symbolism in Names • Old Man Warner--warns the townspeople of the danger of dropping the lottery; symbolic of those who are afraid of change • Family name of Delacroix in French means "of the cross.” • "Mr. Graves." Graves denotes death. It is not only a symbolism but a foreshadowing of what was to come. • Joe Summers, the name represents: a new time, a fresh start: change.
Symbolism • In regard to the black box in "The Lottery," the condition is also symbolic. The color black denotes death, and the box itself is enclosed, thus indicating that whoever is chosen will be closed in by the crowd. The box is old; the paint is peeling, and the wood is splintered. This condition reflects the fading of the tradition in other villages as well as the villager's questioning of the lottery in this village. • The three-legged stool is symbolic of the trinity--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Symbolism • The lottery: Real-life lotteries and other forms of gambling that devastate human beings. (4) The risks of daily living, such as driving a car or flying on an airplane • Boys gathering stones and pebbles: Indoctrination or brainwashing that is passed on from one generation to the next.
Allusion • "Mrs. Hutchinson" was a symbolic name. The name of Jackson's victim links her to Anne Hutchinson, whose Antinomian (against men) beliefs, found to be heretical by the Puritan hierarchy, resulted in her banishment from Massachusetts in 1638. While Tessie Hutchinson is no spiritual rebel, to be sure, Jackson's allusion to Anne Hutchinson reinforces her suggestions of a rebellion lurking within the women of her imaginary village. Anne Hutchinson was basically "thrown out" of Puritan society because she went against the teachings of the church by holding her own meetings in the home.
Superstition • The purpose of The Lottery is to ensure enough rain to have a good corn crop the following June. Basically, the story evolves around the misguided belief that if the villagers sacrifice one of their own to what readers are led to believe is a Rain God, then they will have good crops the next year. They believe that if they do not do this, then they will regress to hard times.
Irony • The word lottery suggests that the villagers are going to draw for a prize. • The sunny day suggests that a happy event is about to take place. • When Old Man Warner hears that the north village is considering ending the lottery, he says, "Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves." (The lottery is as savage and barbaric a ritual as any practiced by cave dwellers.) • Tessie Hutchinson, who in the beginning of the story views the lottery without concern or worry, is in the end the unfortunate victim who becomes the sacrifice. • While the villagers have forgotten many of the traditions of the lottery, it is the violent act and the use of stones that is remembered well and carried on year after year.
Foreshadowing • The children’s gathering of stones prior to the beginning of the lottery. • Mr. Summers’ statement that they needed to get on with it, get it over with, which indicates this is not something for the villagers to enjoy. • The use of the black box. Prior to the lottery, it is treated reverently and locked in the safe. Throughout the rest of the year, it is left in various places and almost forgotten as though it is not important. • The villagers’ reaction to the black box: their hesitation to help with it and their desire to keep it at a distance.
Possible Themes • One possible theme of The Lottery is to not believe everything you hear. These townspeople have been doing this ritualistic picking off of the villagers for years because they have this splintery, worn, old black box, that has been passed down over the years. They have parts of a ritual which they remember, and parts they don't, they've changed the whole thing so much it really isn't even the same anymore. But because of the stories they heard, and that have been passed down from generation to generation, they are afraid to not do the ritual. Rather, they just do the parts they remember. • The unexamined life is not worth living. The truth of this dictum of the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, becomes clear when the townspeople refuse to examine their traditions and continue to take part in a barbaric ritual.
Possible Themes • Following the crowd can have disastrous consequences. Although some townspeople raise questions about the lottery, they all go along with it in the end. Thus, they become unthinking members of a herd, forfeiting their individuality and sending Tessie Hutchinson to her death. • The wickedness of ordinary people can be just as horrifying as the heinous crime of a serial killer or a sadistic head of state. From time to time, we are surprised to learn that the man, woman, or even child next door–a quiet, unassuming postal worker, bank clerk, or student–has committed offenses so outrageous that they make national news
Possible Themes • Society wrongfully designates scapegoats to bear the sins of the community. According to some interpretations of “The Lottery,” Tessie Hutchinson is stoned to death to appease forces desiring a sacrificial lamb offered in atonement for the sins of others. The practice of using scapegoats dates back to ancient times, when Jews ritually burdened a goat with the sins of the people, then threw it over a cliff to rid the community of those sins. Ancient Greeks performed a similar ritual with a human scapegoat, although the scapegoat apparently did not die. In ancient Rome, an innocent person could take on the sin of a guilty person, thus purifying the latter. Early societies in Central and South America offered human sacrifices to appease higher powers
Possible Themes • The reluctance of people to reject outdated traditions, ideas, rules, laws, and practices. The villagers continue the lottery year after year because, as one of the villagers would say, “We have always had a lottery as far back as I can remember. I see no reason to end it.” Put another way, this theme says: “We’ve always done it this way. Why change now?” In real life, defenders of the status quo have used this philosophy down through the ages and into the present da
Horrors of the Story • Some first-time readers of "The Lottery" tend to cite the ending, describing the commencement of the stoning of Tessie Hutchinson, as the only disturbing part of the story. But those who have studied the story know otherwise. Consider, for example, the following: • After executing a woman by stoning, the townspeople will go home to eat lunch or go back to work as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. The first paragraph says, "[T][he whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner." The tenth paragraph says, "Well, now," Mr. Summers said soberly, "guess we better get started, get this over with, so's we can go back to work." • The villagers do not excuse children from the lottery. Even Nancy Hutchinson, 12, and her little brother, Davy, must draw from the black box. If a child draws the slip of paper with the black dot, he or she will be stoned. • Children take part in the stoning. Little Davy is so small that he throws pebbles.
Horrors of the Story • Nancy Hutchinson and her brother Bill laugh when they draw blank lots. Only two people remain to draw, their father and mother. How could Nancy and Bill laugh when they know that their father or mother will draw the lot with the black spot and die? • Mr. Hutchinson pulls from his wife's hand the slip of paper she has drawn--the losing lot--and holds it up for all to see. He does not plead for his wife; he does not exhibit any sympathy. Instead, he becomes one of the executioners.
Societal Scapegoats • African Americans before and during the Civil Rights Movement • Jews during the rein of Hitler and WWII • Those termed “witches” during the Salem Witch Trials • Different ethnicities persecuted by racists • *Scapegoating is most often supported by propaganda: information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
