The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is by far one of my favorite short stories to teach in high school! The irony of the title, the mysterious setting, and the subtle characterization of the unassuming town always seem to shock students by the end of the story. No matter the age, kids love to see the progress of Tessie and the townspeople. And when analyzing this iconic text, there are various ways we can engage our students with The Lottery questions for discussion activities.
If you need The Lottery Questions For Discussion that will help your students comprehend, analyze, and evaluate this simple, yet higher-level story, keep reading!
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The Lottery Questions For Discussion
1. Setting: What is the effect of the description of the setting at the beginning of the story?
The definition of setting is the description of time and place. When teaching “The Lottery,” students can see right away that Shirley Jackson engages the reader in her illustration of a rural town. Although seemingly humble and plain compared to the standards of today, we are caught up in this town almost immediately. It is the way that Jackson sets the stage that captures the reader. I mean, come on! The story involves a lottery, right? This should be a fun and exciting occasion.
We soon find out it is not…especially not for Tessie!
This is why incorporating The Lottery questions for discussion about the setting is so important to get students thinking about the impact of the setting!
2. Theme: What are two themes that could be true based on the short story?
When teaching a theme of a text, always be sure to review what a theme actually is.
Theme: the message of the text.
This definition is super basic; however, more often than not, students will provide a one-word answer: Ex. tradition, death, pride, love, etc.
Instead, we need to guide our students to a message that could be true based on the story. There is no perfectly right or wrong way to create the theme, BUT it does have to be supported by ideas in the passage.
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3. Title: What is the effect of the title on the meaning of “The Lottery” as a whole?
Especially when you are teaching higher-level students, they need to work with language and structure as a unit. Everything is integrated to determine the meaning or purpose. As you help your students tackle “The Lottery,” make sure to discuss the title ahead of time. Perhaps, you could have students do a pre-write about the word “LOTTERY.” Most will probably picture winning millions of dollars. Unfortunately, this is most certainly not true for Tessie!
So why would the author use this title? Why use the word “lottery?” Why “The” lottery versus “a” lottery?
These questions are vital for student discussion today. Why do we still have lotteries and do they even benefit those who participate? I know, right!
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4. Characterization: How does Tessie change from the beginning of the story to the end of the story?
Teaching characterization is vital. When students reach high school, we want them to notice not only what the character does or says. We want them to see the purpose of the characterization.
- How is a character depicted at the start of the text?
- What conflict does the character experience?
- How does the character change?
- Most importantly, WHY does the character change?
- What meaning or message can we gather as an audience from this character shift?
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5. Tone: What is Old Man Warner’s tone when Mr. Adams discusses ending the lottery?
Tone is SOOOO hard to master for some reason. We change our tone all of the time depending on the context and people we are surrounded by. So then, why is tone so difficult for students?
Honestly, I think we just need to teach tone a bit more explicitly. That’s why including The Lottery questions for discussion is vital!
- Review the meaning of tone; tone is the emotion of the author, narrator, characters, etc.
- Discuss the difference between connotation and tone; connotation is the positive or negative feelings behind the words, and tone is a more specific emotion.
- Help students identify tone based on diction; students need to see the connection between certain words and the tone.
- Analyze the meaning/purpose of the tone; tone reflects the meaning and intention of the author.
6. Symbolism: What does each character symbolize/represent?
This last question will really cause your students to go beyond the text. Each character is intentional: Tessie, the children, Old Man Warner, etc.
Think about it: Why does Jackson include descriptions of each specific character?
Be sure to include other literary devices and elements in The Lottery questions for discussion in your class!
7. Evaluate: The Lottery Questions For Discussion
- In what specific areas of society today do people hold onto traditions, values, past experiences, heritage, culture, beliefs, etc.?
- Is clinging to these specific aspects of life good or bad?
- Why?
Ultimately, we want our students to engage with a text, understand it, analyze its meaning, and then move beyond the basics to evaluation. And The Lottery questions for discussion are a great place to start!
If students are in Advanced Placement classes or plan to attend college, they need to become evaluators and critical thinkers, not merely consumers. Getting students to think is the ultimate goal. Unlike the town in the story, we want students to question EVERYTHING, evaluate EVERYTHING, and then make a decision about EVERYTHING!
Simply accepting the status quo is not acceptable, and we can see it turned out tragically for Tessie! Likewise, it can turn out tragically for us as well if we accept whatever someone asks of us or demands of us in a time of confusion and chaos. Let’s get our students thinking beyond the text, so they see the real-world implications!
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