Lesson 43

Today’s Agenda Discuss “The Lottery” Literary Devices Today’s Objective: Students will be able to apply short story unit skills to Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”

Quiz

Circle any unanswered questions (1-22)

Entry Slip Were you surprised by the ending of the story? Why or why not? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answer. You must incorporate at least one quote from the story. Don’t forget to include the title of the short story, punctuated correctly. Also, remember to use the author’s last name (Jackson) when referring to her.

So, this kind of stuff doesn’t happen anymore, right? WRONG!

Ash Eating Located in Venezuela and Brazil, the Yanomamo tribe forbids keeping any part of the body of  a deceased person. When a person dies, the body is cremated and the crushed bones are added to the ashes.  The ashes are then given to the family and must be eaten

Ant Initiation On the Amazon, the boys of this tribe must wear gloves containing bullet ants (Paraponera clavata) for ten minutes at a time and repeat it nineteen times. They must endure many stings, the pain of which is near unbearable, to prove themselves. The ants are so called because the pain their bites inflict are supposedly of the same intensity as a bullet wound. The Schmidt Sting Pain Index rates it as a 4+ and describes it as ‘waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours’

Baby Throwing Ritual A civil rights campaigner, Ranjana Kumari, in New Delhi continues to protest about a centuries old tradition best described as “baby throwing.” This ritual is performed at various shrines in West India such as Solapur. The toddlers are blessed and dropped up to fifty feet from the roof down to a sheet, held taut by people, below. The ritual supposedly brings good health and prosperity to the child’s families. This activity is practiced by Hindus and Muslims alike and has been a tradition for the last 700 years.

Yanshui Beehive Rockets Festival In Taiwan, the largest Lantern Festival known as the Beehive Rocket Festival will run for two days. During the festival, 800,000 firecrackers are fired at and into the crowds’ like angry bees. 2011 marks the centenary of the Republic of China and this is their way of celebrating the event. There is certainly risk involved by being in the crowd as flames and burning debris explode towards you at high speed.

Literary Devices Foreshadowing Symbolism Irony Plot Conflict Point of View Literary Devices

Foreshadowing What does FORESHADOWING mean? Author hints at or alludes to something that will happen later in the story. What are some examples of FORESHADOWING in the story? “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones.” Foreshadows the stoning “…and the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it. The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool…” “A sudden hush fell on the crowd as Mr. Summers cleared his throat and looked at the list.” They grinned at each other humorously and nervously.” “…went hastily back to this place in the crowd where he stood a little apart from his family, not looking down at his hand.” “…greeted Mr. Summers gravely…” Foreshadows the townpeople’s nervousness

Symbolism What do you think these things represent? The Black Box Evil/Death Outdated Tradition "The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained."  The Lottery Foolhardy tradition that is passed down from generation to generation Characters’ names: Do you think Shirley Jackson selected some of the names purposefully? If so, which ones and what do they reveal?

Character Names/Symbols Summers: The Lottery takes place during the summer Summer usually feels warm, happy, enjoyable Irony Graves: Man who brings out the box… gives reader a hint of what will be coming next Foreshadowing Dellacroix: In French means: “Of the Cross” Biblical reference to Martyrdom/Sacrifice Allusion Tess is sacrificed to the ritual “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” Notice!!! Dellacroix picks up the biggest rock at the end of the story Davey Hutchinson (youngest son): Symbol of lost innocence and cruelty of the ritual

Irony What is an example of IRONY in the story? How is this ironic? The day is pleasant, “clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” How is this ironic? Reader expects the story to be happy and it is far from it. What type of IRONY is this? Situational Identify additional examples of IRONY.

Plot Diagram Climax Rising Action Falling Action Resolution/Conclusion Exposition Resolution/Conclusion Inciting Incident

Plot Diagram - Structure How is this story organized? Exposition Learn about the tradition of the lottery in this small village sometime around 1950-1960 Inciting Incident Mr. Summers starts the lottery process Rising Action Names are called and slips are drawn Climax Tessie Hutchinson draws the “winning” ticket. Falling Action Tessie Hutchinson pleads for mercy Resolution Tessie Hutchison is stoned to death.

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