The Lottery

1. • The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

2. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson was originally published in 1948 in the New Yorker magazine, one of the most important literary magazines in American culture. • After its publication, "The Lottery" is reported to have generated more negative letters from readers than any other story previously published by the magazine. • Readers were offended by the work and its suggestion that evil could be so easily and commonly carried out.

3. Stoning In early Bible History, stoning was the (perhaps surprising to many) God-commanded Israelite method of executing those found guilty of the most serious offenses against His Law. Unlike most other forms of capital punishment, stoning had no specific executioner, "all the congregation shall stone" (see verses below).

5. Why was it so controversial? • One may well wonder why audiences were so offended by this work; it would be simplistic to suggest that the readers were any narrower in their thinking than are contemporary readers. • More likely, readers at the time of initial publication were still reeling from the events of World War II. • Proud of America's effort to help put an end to fascism, we saw ourselves as the world's beacon of hope. Jackson challenges such a view. The single most remarkable aspect of Nazi Germany was the holocaust which resulted in the deaths of 6,000,000 Jews who had committed no crime, but were punished for their religious persuasion. Americans had come to believe that such a thing could ever happen here and that we had acted to stop such atrocities.

9. Terminology • Scapegoat- This is a person, group, or thing assigned responsibility for the perceived faults of a given society. The term has many roots in the ancient world. In modern times the holocaust is often pointed to as an example of scape goating by which 6 millions Jews were killed under direction of Adolf Hitler. Hitler played on popular sentiment in his country at the time by blaming Jews for the loss of the first world war and the economic woes of Germany. • Foreshadowing- In a story this is the presentation of people or things that appear to be essentially insignificant but later prove to be central to the story. For example, the piling of the rocks by the boys seems harmless, but the rocks take on a much more serious meaning later in the tale.

10. Names are Symbols • Family name of Delacroix in French means "of the cross," however, Mrs. Delacroix was one of the least Christian townspeople since she picks up the biggest stone to cast at Tessie. • "Mr. Graves." Graves denotes death. • "Mrs. Hutchinson" was a symbolic name. The name of Jackson's victim links her to Anne Hutchinson,. 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. • Joe Summers, the name represents: a new time, a fresh start: change. • 2 most important characters are Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves because they both have really important jobs in the story, Postmaster and head of coal company. Summers was not conservative however, Graves was, lots of comparisons in the story and in their names.

11. The Black Box and Other Symbols • 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. • Concerning the date June 27: June 27 falls between the Summer Soltice (June 21) and Independece day (July 4)......Paganism and democracy

12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDdxpxb3l-Y cask • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN5V8cQ2DAk the lottery • We will review “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Lottery” today.