1A.
The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson seems to follow the traditional elements of plot. The exposition is when the story begins in the town square of an unknown village. We know it’s June 27th around ten o’clock and it’s a clear and sunny day. We are given some information about how many people live in this village and that the lottery has been a tradition for many years and the people will never give it up. We then are introduced to a few of these villagers as they wait for the lottery to begin. We learn that Mr. Summers is in charge of the lottery. Every head of household is called up to grab a slip of paper from the black box in the center of the square. The conflict arises when Tessie Hutchinson realizes her husband Bill took a slip of paper that has something on it. Tessie begins to yell that it is not fair because her husband was rushed and could not choice the paper he wanted. The rising action is when the Hutchinson family (Bill, Tessie, Bill Jr., Nancy, and Little Davy) is called up to the black box and are instructed to pull out a slip of paper. The climax is when each family member draws a slip of paper and all of them are blank, except for Tessie’s, which has a black dot on it. In the falling action, the villagers begin to pick up the stones they had been gathering earlier and form a circle around Tessie, who is continuing to yell that this whole thing is not fair. The resolution of the story is Tessie when is hit with the stones.
3A.
In “The Lottery”, Tessie Hutchinson changes throughout the story as the events begin to play out. We are first introduced to Tessie as she arrives late to the lottery, flustered and out of breath. She jokes around with the villagers admitting she forgot what day it was, saying "Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink, now, would you. Joe?” (Jackson, 2). The other women have arrived on time and are standing with their husband and families, making Tessie already seeming different from the rest of the villagers because it is implied that no one shows up late and no one can miss the lottery. After it is known that her husband had drawn the slip of paper with something on it, Tessie goes from a joking manner to more irrational. She begins to yell, "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!" (Jackson, 5). She does not stop screaming, “It wasn’t fair” the whole time while her family has to draw from the black box. When it is revealed that she is the one with the black dot on her slip of paper, she becomes even more erratic, continuing to yell, “It isn’t fair!” Tessie goes from this carefree, comical woman to more senseless and crazy because her family was chosen in the lottery and in the end she was the one who had the stones thrown at her. She is different from the rest of the villagers, which means she probably is against the traditional lottery and is why she is protesting against it.
5A.
One of the major symbols of “The Lottery” is the lottery itself. We know from the beginning of the story that it is held every year at the end of June and every village has been doing it for generations, having an accompanying adage: “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson, 4). It has become part of the village’s culture and everyone has to participate and be on time. The next generation accepts these rules and follows them without thinking about it, no matter how strange, illogical, or cruel it is. The villagers are so loyal to this tradition that they are willing to hurt one of their own neighbors or friends. They are even unwilling to replace the black box that is used to hold the slips of paper that the head of each household draws from, even though the paint is rubbing off and the wood is showing through. Since there is a story that this box is made from shards of the previous box used, the villagers protest getting a new one. The lottery represents the unquestioned rituals and traditions driven by society. The villagers are fully loyal to it, even though some parts of the lottery has changes, like having the heads of the households drawling slips of paper instead of wood chips. The villagers joining together and throwing stones at the “winner”, killing them in the middle of the square, is an extreme example of what can happen if traditions and rituals are never questioned by the new generations.
6A.
One of the themes in “The Lottery” is the danger of blindly following tradition. Every year, at the end of June, the villagers gather in the town square to participate in the lottery. The characters do not protest against it and most are unwilling to even replace the black box that holds the slips of papers because they believe it was made from shards of the previous box. They are all so loyal to this tradition, they are willing to kill their own. Since the lottery has been going on for so many years, no one thinks anything of it. They know at this time every year they are required to go to the town square where each family gets a slip of paper. The only person who really criticizes the lottery is Tessie Hutchinson, who screams, “It is not fair!” when her family is selected to redraw. She repeats this phrases over and over again and even gives in excuse to why her husband drew that slip of paper. This does not stop the villagers from collecting their stones they are going to throw at the “winner” of the annual lottery. In the end, Tessie Hutchinson is the one who unfortunately draws the slip of paper with the black dot on it; resulting in the villagers throwing the stones they had been gathering the whole day at her. The circle her and do not give her a chance to defend herself. They entire time they talk about how they just want to get it done so they can go eat.