An overall discussion on the short story The Lotter...

1. The Lottery
Shirley Jackson

2. Main Idea
● The horror of following tradition blindly.
● The random persecution by the people of
the village.
● Cruelty in the name of tradition.
● A clash between tradition and new ideas.
● The vulnerability of the individual.
● The importance of questioning tradition
● The relationship between civilization and
violence

3. Significant Characters
● Tessie Hutchinson
● Old Man Warner
● Mr. Summers
● Bill Hutchinson
● Mr. Harry Graves

4. Tessie Hutchinson
● Victim of the lottery & killed by the villagers.
Old Man Warner
● Symbol of tradition & always denies the new
ideas.
Mr. Summers
● Conducts the lottery.

5. Study
Questions

6. MCQ

7. How many people live in the village?
● 200
● 300
● 400
● 500

8. Why people are gathering in the town
square?
● There is a band concert in
the village.
● There is a voting whether to
discontinue the lottery
● The mayor is making a
speech.
● It is the annual lottery day.

9. Which stones are the most preferable for
the use in the lottery?
● Shiny, decorative one
● Hard, jagged ones
● Smooth, round ones
● Heavy, flat ones

10. What is the date of the lottery?
● 25th June
● 26th June
● 27th June
● 28th June

11. What are the men doing before the
beginning of the lottery?
● Standing together and
talking about politics
● Standing together and
talking about crops
● Standing in a group talking
about tractors and rain
● Standing in a group but not
talking

12. How do they assemble when it is the
time to begin the ceremony?
● In a double file lines
● Together in family groups
● Making a huge circle
● Moving forward to try to be
the first to draw

13. What is being used for the first time in
this year?
● Slips of paper instead of
wood chips
● A new black box
● Ping pong balls
● A bigger stool

14. Who needs help from Mr. Graves to open
his slip?
● Tessie Hutchinson
● Little Dave Hutchinson
● All of the children
● The youngest daughter

15. What is the first element of surprise in
the story?
● Mr. Summers is changing
the rituals
● Tessie being late in the
ceremony
● Mr. Graves has forgotten
the stools
● Boys are gathering stones

16. Questions

17. ● Describe the setting of the story "the Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.
● What is the main theme of the story? Do you support the main theme of the story
"the Lottery"? Give your reason based on your reading of the story.
● Who is Old Man Warner? What does he symbolize in the story " the Lottery"?
● How is the lottery conducted in the story? What are the steps? What is the
ultimate prize of the lottery?
● Describe the faith of Tessie Hutchinson.
● Why does Tessie think that the draw is not a fair one? How do the others react on
her claim?

18. Important
Quotes

19. ● Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still
remembered to use stones.
● Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon
followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones[.]
● Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one
liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.
● Although Mr. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly
well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally.
● The children had stones already, and someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few
pebbles.

20. The End