Lesson Four - The Lottery

Introduction

Lesson Three - The Lottery
Duration - 5 blocks (5 x 80 min + homework)

"Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon." - The Lottery

"So, if you've ever been hanging out with a group of friends and done something truly stupid, you may have heard the refrain, 'If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?' Your answer is probably 'no,' but Shirley Jackson disagrees. She thinks you – and anyone and everyone – would race off that bridge if your community decided it was necessary. According to her, while individuals may be great, a group of people is another animal. An animal that eats its own.

"'The Lottery' is a story of a small town basically devouring a member of its own community. It's one of the most horrifying texts you'll encounter, in high school or out of it. 
Like so many great horror stories, this one has a load of social commentary. "The Lottery" is like the world's creepiest public service announcement against peer pressure. Similar to those warnings about drinking or smoking – except Jackson is warning against unthinkingly follow along with a group. 

"So there's your warning about group psychology, but we want to be clear: 'The Lottery isn't about short-lived mass hysteria like the Salem Witch Trials. No, this is a regular thing; it's like a witch trial that happens every year, where one unfortunate person becomes 'the excluded one.'

"So, first there's peer pressure and second there's the exclusion of one person to give the remaining community members a bonding experience. The third ingredient in the horror of 'The Lottery' is tradition, which is what prevents any of the villagers from questioning their roles in ritualistic murder. In other words, Jackson's all, 'You think tradition's so great and meaningful, well, look how it deadens people's abilities to think for themselves!' 

"And it's sometimes true that we don't think about the origins or significance of many of our regular traditions. Whether its origins are good or bad, a given tradition can seem like it's always been here. Tradition often doesn't appear to have a history or logic of its own; it just is, and this type of thinking makes tradition hard to question. We can read 'The Lottery' as a kind of plea: if your only reason for doing something is that you've always done it, Jackson suggests that might not be a reason at all." - Shmoop

Resources

Short Story
"The Lottery"

Websites
Sparknotes
Shmoop
Wikipedia

VIDEO

Lesson

Read the notes on symbolism.

Before you read:

• Think about some of the traditions and/or rituals you encounter at various places in your life.  Do you know the origins of these traditions?
• Are you familiar with the sentiment, "'Because we've always done it that way' are the most dangerous words in the English language"?

Read "The Lottery".
View the video "The Lottery" posted on the Resources page.

Assignment 1

Respond to the questions posted in the U3L4 Forum: Lottery

Respond to the questions in as much detail as possible in order to earn full marks.

The forum is worth 50 marks.

Your first post - that is, your answers to the questions posed - are worth 35 of those 50 marks. 
Compose your answers in a document and then copy and paste them into the forum.
If you compose in the forum window, and it is open for too long, it may time out before you click "submit" and all of your work will be lost!!

The remaining 15 marks are earned by your comments on your classmates' posts. 
You must comment on at least three of your classmates' posts.
Writing "I agree, good post" will earn you no marks, as that engenders no discussion.

The forums in this course replace the discussions that would be held in a traditional classroom.
Be sure that your comments add to a discussion.

Assignment 2

40 Marks

Open a new Word document. Label it E201U3L4surname 
In this document, complete the assignment as outlined below.
Submit this assignment using the Dropbox for U3L4 Lottery PR

Your response should be between 600 and 1200 words.
Historically, students who write 600 words tend to score around 50%. Those who write closer to the upper range of 1200 words tend to reach the Standard of Excellence, which is 80% or higher. View 1200 words as a cap, however, and not as a target. Writing MORE than 1200 words does not necessarily improve your mark. It may, in fact, do the opposite. Choose your words judiciously.

Study the photo Burryman.

• Consider the themes present in "The Lottery" and "Burryman" in terms of traditions.
• What do these texts suggest to you about the nature of hardships that may be encountered when individuals desire to follow OR discard traditions? Support your idea(s) with reference to ONE of the texts presented and to your previous knowledge and/or experience.
• You may want to review your notes and the tutorial on "writing a personal response to text" before you begin.
• Use the thesis planner to help you break down the question and ensure that you discuss it in its entirety.

In your writing you should

• select a prose form that is appropriate to the ideas you wish to express and that will enable you to effectively communicate to the reader (short essay, rant, newspaper article, editorial, interior monologue, short story, personal observation, etc.)
• discuss ideas and impressions that are meaningful to you
• respond from a personal, critical and/or creative perspective
• consider how you can create a strong unifying effect

You may want to consider using the HYBRID APPROACH.

Your assignment will be marked using the "personal response to texts" rubric.

Conclusion

Shirley Jackson warns against unthinkingly follow along with a group. In using the events of the Salem Witch Trials, Arthur Miller further explores this idea in The Crucible.

What is revealed when individuals respond to hardships can be terrifying . . .