Russel Justine G.

Rodolfo
ESSE01
ENGLSAM
Professor Jimmy B. Dillo
April 12, 2020

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

1. What is the basic irony of the situation in the story?

I think that the basic irony of the story is the juxtaposition of peace and violence. The
maintenance of the tradition to keep the peace in town but by means of committing violence
against their own. Even though some no longer believe and are already against the tradition,
they tend to be afraid to not conform with everybody. Also, people have already forgotten the
real essence of the ritual, from a real religious justification for the lottery to just a murder for
the sake of tradition.

2. Go over the details of the setting. What atmosphere is established in paragraphs 1 to 3? What is
ironic about it in the light of what happens in the story?

The story begins with a very calm and light description of the setting. It is depicted as if
it is just a typical summer day. Words such as ‘sun’ and ‘flowers’ are used, words which have
positive association that can lead the readers into having an idea of a friendly story. This
established idea at the beginning is what made the ending leave the readers in big shock at the
revelation of the real motive of the story, which is violence.

3. Study the exchange between Old Man Warner and the Adamses in paragraph 31 and 34. Explain the
ironies in that exchange.

The conversation between the Old Man Warner and the Adamses mainly explains why
the lottery is still being held in this unnamed town. The lottery exists to demonstrate the
organization and power of society where a group of people conform to shared rules. But as
some can already observe, people have already forgotten the original ritual. The lottery has
become pointless and is being upheld only because of the villagers’ belief in tradition—not a
belief in any higher power. Despite this, the Old Man Warner remained with his pride to stand
by the maintaining of the tradition. The Adamses on the other hand, continued to conform
with the others despite being hesitant about it.

4. Identify the point of view used in the story. Describe the narrative voice. How does the tone
contribute to the story’s effect?
 The story is written in a third-person omniscient point of view. The narrator states
details leaving small hints but not completely revealing what is really happening in the story.
The tone used was very deceiving, making the readers acquire an idea that the story is all lively
and friendly but not until the revelation at the end. Because of this, the surprise at the end
appeared to be more effective and astonishing.

5. As a parable, what symbols does the story use? Note, in particular, the role of (a) Old Man Warner
(b) the black spot on the slip of the paper (c) the lottery itself.

The Old Man Warner symbolizes the power of tradition. He believes that ending the
lottery would bring the town nothing but trouble. Other than the importance of tradition,
there are no more explanations as to why he strongly supports the lottery. In this way, the story
captures the strength of tradition; what it could do to a community and the people.
Spots are often associated with disease, and so the appearance of the dot symbolizes the
marking of a person as a possible destruction, making that person look as if he or she were
diseased and unsafe to others. It can also symbolize pointlessness as it is only created by
another human being using a pencil but it determines the fate of the people.
The lottery itself symbolizes the conformity of the people in something that does not
logically make sense and yet people still follow because others do.

6. What seems to be the “moral” of Jackson’s parable? By juxtaposing a primitive ritual and a relatively
modern setting, what does Jackson seem to be making about (a) modern society (b) human behaviour
(c) rituals?

Even though the setting of the story is a single town, it can be assumed that it might be
almost anywhere. In doing this, Jackson makes the story a fable—the ideas explored here are
universal, making the ideas almost applicable to every town and its people. Jackson provides
her readers a guideline of whether it is still right to follow the things being dictated by the
society. For there are times that these things become irrational and are only being done because
it’s just the way things are done.

7. Based on what Old Warner says, what the villagers practice seems to be a fertility ritual. Such rituals
often involve a scapegoat. How is this concept applied in the story?

The town gathers annually for the lottery. It is when every year, somebody is drawn to
be sacrificed to the divine in exchange of prosperity. Although the real essence of this ritual was
already forgotten by most people, it still originally aims to offer a human being for the sake of
the others.

8. Do you know of other examples of scapegoats in history? What are examples of modern scapegoats?
Are there still “lotteries” such as this in the story in our own society today?
 I think that a very well-known example of scapegoat in history is none other than the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He was sacrificed by God the father for the sins of everybody else.
To be particular in the Philippines, although this may sound controversial, I think that
president Rodrigo Duterte is being used as a scapegoat for the shortcomings of all the other
departments in the government. Whenever there is a problem, all the blame is thrown to the
president. When a problem arises and the country is left with not many solutions, they look
for somebody to blame, and then they all point their fingers to the person sitting in
Malacañang.