1. Quick Write
Explain your initial reaction to the ending of “The Lottery.” How did it make you feel? What were your thoughts?
Did the clues along the way help you predict that Tessie would be stoned, or were you surprised?

2. Objective
Today, students will be able to: - analyze irony and symbolism in “The Lottery”; and - take an interpretive stance on the story using textual evidence.

3. What is Irony? Irony is the contrast between expectation and reality—
between what is said and what is really meant,
between what is expected to happen and what really does happen, or
between what appears to be true and what is really true.

4. The Irony of the Setting
How is the setting of “The Lottery” ironic? Explain.

5. The Irony of the Title
How is the title of “The Lottery” ironic? Explain.

6. What is Symbolism?
Symbolism occurs when an author uses a person, place, thing or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself.
Many symbols have become so widely recognized that they have become public symbols. For example…

7. A heart

8. A cross

9. A cross and skull bones

10. Symbolism & Foreshadowing
Think back over the symbols you selected. In what ways do these symbols provide clues or hints to what will happen next?
What effect do these symbols have on us as readers?

11. The lottery as Allegory
An allegory may be defined as:
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
a symbolic narrative.

12. One Story, Many Interpretations
There are many different ways you could interpret, or explain the meaning of, “The Lottery.”
Meaning is created in literature as much by the author as by the reader.

13. One Story, Many Interpretations
Some possible interpretations include…
Obscure (and often barbaric) rituals govern our daily lives. Tradition trumps reason.
The ancient idea that one must suffer so that everyone else might live still persists today. Why?
The power of conformity and the human capacity for brutality, hypocrisy, and evil knows no bounds. Consider historical context (Holocaust, A-bomb, etc.)