By Shirley Jackson

 Published in 1948 in ‘The New Yorker’.  Caused uproar and thousands of people cancelled their subscriptions to ‘The New Yorker’.  People struggled at the time to make sense of it.  People were shocked and horrified at the violence.  People were not able to associate the ideas of women, family, community and violence.  Now one of the most taught texts in the world – lots of information available online.

 Tradition and Rules - Do we follow them blindly? - Should we question them?  Persecution  Violence - Are persecution and violence acceptable if they are a social norm? - How can we challenge this?

 Shock  Suspense  Horror  Surprise  Enjoyment (?)

 At first, the setting seems positive.  What examples of setting can you find?  What aspects of setting show this place to be seemingly civilised?  Which aspects of the setting seem particularly ominous when the dramatic end of the story is revealed?

 Tess Hutchinson  The Hutchinson Family  Old Man Warner  Mr Summers  The Delacroix Family

 Each group will be given a character.  Go through the text and extract and explain relevant quotations for each character.  The posters will be passed round after 12 minutes so each group can read what the others have done and add to it.  Your work will be displayed on the walls in class. You should familiarise yourself with them all.

 Mr Summers - Although his name suggests happiness, warmth and comfort he is in fact in charge of the cruel and violent lottery. It is his job to ensure that all rules are followed.  Old Man Warner - The voice of authority in the town. He warns against the new making his name entirely appropriate. He doesn’t believe in change and he likes to keep to the old barbaric ways. We can’t be certain but it seems a mixture of fear and stubbornness keep him in his ways.  The Delacroix family - In French ‘Delacroix’ means ‘of the cross’. Despite the religious allusions here, the Delacroix family are in fact the most violent characters although they appear quite nice. The Delacroix children play yet it is the symbolic stones used for violence which are the toy of their choice. Mrs Delacroix is friendly and chatty yet she picks up a huge stone and is one of the first to attack Tess. Their name is therefore ironic as they display little or no Christian values.

The Black Box -What does the appearance of the box tell us about the lottery? -How do the people treat the box? The Stones -When do we first see the stones in the story? -When do they reappear? -Does this make our initial ‘sighting’ of them seem more ominous? The Lottery -Is it clear why they carry out the lottery? -What good does it do? -How do the people feel about it?

 The structure of The Lottery is one of the most significant aspects of the story and it is this aspect, along with the themes of the story, which have made it so entertaining and enduring.  For the majority of the text, the town and its people seem normal, quaint and harmless.  TASK: Identify descriptions which seem ‘normal’ or everyday in the story. What do these suggest to you?  The story reaches its climax when Tess and her family are selected.  TASK: How do we know at this point that all is not normal or everyday?  The writers builds suspense by not revealing what upsets Tess until the last few lines.  TASK: Looking at the last few lines what words and descriptions does the writer use to emphasise the horror of the resolution.

 Choose a short story which has a key incident. Give a brief account of the incident, and by referring to techniques, show how this incident is important to the text as a whole.  Choose a novel or a short story which has an incident or a great moment of tension. Describe briefly what happens, and by referring to techniques, show how this incident is important to the text as a whole.  Choose a novel or a short story which made you consider an aspect of human nature or society. By referring to appropriate techniques, describe the aspect of human nature or human society and then go on to discuss its importance to the text as a whole.  Choose a novel or a short story with a message which is still relevant today. Show how the author’s portrayal of events and character (s) highlights the author’s message.

 All essays should begin with a clear introduction which should contain: - The title of the text - The author of the text - A brief summary / mention of main themes - An indication of how you will answer the question using the words in the question.

 Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’ was written in 1948 and tells the story of how Tess Hutchinson ‘wins’ her village lottery and finds that her prize is that her friends, family and neighbours turn against her and stone her to death as part of an age old tradition. This story deals with many themes including the power of tradition and how human beings deal with rules imposed upon them. This essay will consider how this event can be seen to create conflict in the story and how this conflict is developed through the setting, the structure and the characterisation of Tess Hutchinson.

 All paragraphs should follow the P.E.E. structure.  P- Point You should make a point which tells us what the paragraph will be about. This should always relate to the question being asked.  E- Evidence This should evidence from the text. Ideally a relevant quotation.  EExplanation This should be a DETAILED discussion of the evidence and how it relates to the question. Think about any literary techniques used. Does it tell us something about a character or a theme?

 Does my paragraph follow the PEE structure?  Have I used appropriate evidence?  Is my explanation of the evidence detailed and thorough?  Have I mentioned any relevant literary techniques?  Is everything I discuss relevant to the question? (Do I stay on topic?)  Is it clear that my argument answers the question?