"The Lottery"
There are many characteristics and elements that can influence a short story. One of the main elements in the short story "The Lottery" is the plot. "The Lottery" is set in a small village consisting of three hundred people who perform in a lottery that happens once a year. While reading the "The Lottery," a person is able to tell that the story line is full of tension and suspension, wondering what is going to happen next.
The "The Lottery" starts off telling the readers the setting of the story. It is June 27th, a very clear and sunny day. "The flowers were blossoming and the grass was richly green" (339). Blossoming flowers, green grass and the sun shining are all upbeat and optimistic characteristics of a positive situation. The story then goes and tells the readers about the children and the families and what they are doing throughout the day. The little boys were all running around laughing, collecting stones and pebbles from the grounds and putting them in their pockets. Everyone is in a good mood, talking and laughing with each other, reminiscing about last years lottery. Eventually ten o'clock comes around and that is the time when the lottery must begin. All the village people and their families meet at the square in the center of the village. The square is where the lottery takes place along with the square dances, the teenage club and the Halloween programs. Mr. Summers, who is a man that lives in the village alone with no wife or children, carries a wooden black box to the center of the square to be used for the lottery. This black box causes suspense and tension throughout the story and becomes very important.
Inside the box, there are little pieces of paper that Mr. Summers has made up from the night before and only one of those papers had a mark on it. This mark symbolizes each of the family's fate. Anyone would think that winning the lottery is something one hopes to win, but the story line conveys some sort of suspension that suggests that this particular lottery is the complete opposite. Once at least one person per family picks out a piece of paper from the box, each member of the family is told to look at the paper and find out who has the marked piece. At this point in the story, the reader finds out that Mr. Hutchinson is the one with the marked piece of paper. The moment when the village finds out who receives the marked paper, Mrs. Hutchinson immediately yells out and claims that Mr. Hutchinson was rushed into picking out a piece of paper and it was not fair. "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!" (343). When Mrs. Hutchinson yells out, the reader can then guess that winning the marked paper is not a good prize.
The entire Hutchinson family was to gather around the black box in the center of all the village people. A second drawing was about to happen and this is when the reader find outs who receives the paper with the black dot. Five papers were put in the box and then picked out by each of the Hutchinson's family members. The last paper picked by Mrs. Hutchinson, has the black dot on it and this determined her fate. "It isn't fair, it isn't right" (345). At last, the whole village gathered their rocks, the little boys took theirs out of their pockets and starting throwing them at Mrs. Hutchinson, killing her.
"The Lottery" is a very well written short story that has a storyline that I would have never guessed. I think that this story is based on a religious ritual that is stuck in the mindset of the village people as something that is okay and normal to do. The people of the village either have to stick with their norms and morals of their society or they are being influenced socially and behaviorally by the elder in the village.
"The Lottery" plot is full of suspension and tension as one reads it. The story line keeps a reader guessing and thinking throughout the text. The climax, rising action and falling action all come together very well and form an amazing plot, so that when any person reads this story they will never forget it.
While reading the "The Lottery," a person is able to tell that the story line is full of tension and suspense , because s/he is wondering what is going to happen next.--- is this your thesis statement? You put this sentence at the end of paragraph one, so it makes me think the whole essay is going to be about this tension and suspense.
Yes, as I continue to read, I see that this is indeed what the essay is about. good job! But the thesis statement could be more focused, more specific. You could add one more sentence to the intro para and one more sentence to the conclusion para if you wanted to "sharpen" the thesis and make it more specific.
When you write about a story, you should write in the present verb tense:
The entire Hutchinson family is to gather around the black box in the center of all the village people. A second drawing is about to happen, and this is when the reader find outs who receives the paper with the black dot.
You should go through the essay and change all your sentences about events in the story so that you describe the events in the present tense.
If you are not sure what I mean, google this: book report "present tense"
:-)
