THE LOTTERY By Shirley Jackson WHAT DOES LOTTERY

THE LOTTERY By: Shirley Jackson

WHAT DOES LOTTERY MEAN TO YOU? • Winning money • Winner • Gambling • Drawing a name to have as the winner • Lucky • Happy

• -Why does the author choose to avoid explaining what the lottery tradition is until the end of the story? Why is this an effective method of storytelling? • -In the third paragraph, what suggests that the lottery is a serious event? • -What hints does the author give us that all is not what it appears to be?

FORESHADOWING • A literary device used to warn or indicate of a future event. • Example from text: • “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix-- the villagers pronounced this name "Dellacroy"--eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys. ” – This foreshadows that the stoning will occur.

SYMBOLISM • The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. • Example from text: • The names of the characters are used to represent what the lottery is really about in this short story, and to relate the people to theme of the story. This can be seen by old man Warner being the person who ‘warns’ the village that if they give up the lottery, they will suffer with poor crops, Mr. Graves indicates that the lottery leads to the grave, and Mr. Summer’s name represents the season of summer and new growth, with Mr. Summer’s changes to the lottery in the story, one can believe that he’d be fine with doing away with the lottery and trying something new.

IRONY • A figure of speech in which words are used in a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. It can also be a situation or event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects. • Example from text: • The short story is ironic from the very beginning, since the first sentence states, “The morning of June 27 th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. ” This is ironic because it depicts life, while the story is about