Post as a comment to this post, these things that your group discussed:
What are some of the things that you think she is satirizing? -try for a list, throw things out there, even if you aren't sure
How do you think the story can specifically connect to today?
Why do you think people were so upset about this story?
What was Shirley Jackson most bothered about when it comes to the letters the magazine received?
Discuss this quote with your group, then add your group's response to it in your comment: *“Explaining
just what I had hoped the story to say is very difficult. I suppose, I hoped,
by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own
village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the
pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives.” –Shirley Jackson
What are some of the things you still have questions about with this story or the biography?
What are some of the best points overall that your group came up with in this discussion?
Things she is satirizing:
ReplyDelete-People are laughing and not taking the ceremony seriously
-People laugh at Mrs. Hutchinson throughout the story, including when she's being stoned
-Old Man Warner says that the young people who aren't doing The Lottery anymore are a "pack of crazy fools"
-Little Davy and his siblings even have to draw from the box and stone their own mother
-They try to rush the ceremony and get everything done quickly, so they can get back to work
Connection to today:
Old Man Warner represents the older people of today because they are stubborn and do like change, even if it would positively affect society. For example, many old people do not like technology, even though it can save lives and make the world a better place.
Why are people so upset:
People could have been upset because they were so illiterate that they truly did not understand the story. Also people could have been mad because this story could have targeted them and it shows the flaws in their society.
Shirley Jackson's reactions:
We think that she was most mad about the fact that people did not get the true message of her story and they didn't change like she had hoped. She's also mad that people "wanted to see the lotteries".
Response to her quote:
We think that she is trying to say that people need to stop all of the "pointless violence" and inhumane acts that occurred not only back then, but also today.
Questions:
Is she targeting a certain topic in her society?
Why would readers back then want to "see the lottery"?
Best points:
-Whatever way a generation is raised, they want to always live that way. They become stubborn when new ideas come along, and refuse to accept them.
-People of that society didn't see anything wrong with the lottery because they were raised to accept it, but once one of them became the victim, they realized how wrong and unethical it was.
Kajsa Luedtke, Jared Peltier, and Claire Palmquist
DeleteRhiana, Austin, Kayla, Cohl,
ReplyDeleteShe is making fun of old, out of practice religions. Jackson could be making fun of the odd ways of tiny small towns. There's the possibility that she could be satirizing young people trying to change old traditional ways, or the old people refusing to let go of traditions.
In today's world the younger generation still tries to change the older traditions. Traditions such as going to church every Sunday used to be a big deal. But now not its not a horrible thing if you don't go every Sunday. Yet the elders in the church still tend to look down on those who aren't as involved. There is also the idea of music. Every generation has a different style of music that the youth like but the elder find appalling. One example of a tradition that we still practice but kind of make fun is Thanksgiving. Like how they used to sit around say what they are Thankful but its turned into a Holiday just for food.
People were upset because at this time they were used to the realistic style of writing and this story had no straight meaning or answer. They also may have been upset that Jackson was referring to their society as barbaric. Readers at that time wrote letters because they wanted answers for an innocent person dying in a gruesome story for no reason.
That people were more concerned about where they could watch the lottery then what was actually happening. They didn't want to go stop it they wanted to watch it.
She was hoping by showing the barbaric and inhumane ways of their society at that time by putting it in terms of what seemed like a ridiculous old tradition, would help them see the fault in their ways.
Did she actually have a reason for writing this story, or did it just randomly come to her? Like we would like to know her thought process when she was walking up the hill thinking of the story. Where did the black box come from and why stoning?
We realized before we read the quote that she was connecting her society's barbaric and inhumane actions to a ridiculous old tradition. We also talked about how she satirized the younger generation rebelling against old ways and the elder generation trying to hold on to watered-down ridiculous rituals.
Hallie, Jordyn, Genna, Paul
ReplyDelete1. Some things satirized were the idea of sacrificing lives for a good harvest, the fact that women weren't seen as powerful (boys listen to fathers and not mothers), and people making decisions based on what society is doing for no apparent reason.
2. The Lottery and connect to today because people still conform to society, even if society's impact is negative. Society can influence people's beliefs, like how the young boys gathered stones just because it was a tradition.
3. People were upset because they didn't understand it was just a story. They felt that the story was morally wrong and were surprised that the author wrote it. People also might have been afraid of communism and other current events and didn't see the humor in the story.
4. Jackson was upset that most of the letters were mean and hurtful toward her. She also was disappointed that people didn't attempt to see the satire or humor in the story and jumped to conclusions right away. They were very rude to her and didn't consider the fact that she was writing a fictional story.
5. The quote shows how Jackson really felt about the story. It showed how traditions that used to be carried out were inhumane and the readers had negative reactions to it.
6. Has something like the Lottery actually happened in history or is it completely fictional? Do the children/community not realize the harshness of the Lottery? Do they think it's a game?
7. The Lottery was comparable to Thomas Builds The Fire because people are persecuted for no apparent reason other than the fact that it's simply tradition or that their ancestors were at fault in the Native Americans' situation. We also said that the people's reaction to her story wasn't justified because they didn't know the whole story.
Emily, Nick L, Nick K, Olivia.
ReplyDelete1) The boy throwing stones at his mother. She satirizes traditions and how the idea of getting a new black box is thought of as crazy. Old man Warner. Mr. summers shows even mobility can't even escape the lottery. The woman was not allowed to draw for her husband. Wants to be done at noon, shows how its changing, almost laughing at their own tradition. Tessie shows females tried to change the tradition, but the men laughed at the idea.
2) People tend to forget cultures and traditions that occurred in the past, and wanting to get rid of them. Gender roles still occur in today's society, however do not affect women to the same extent.
3) The public was upset with the story because of how dark it was, and since they had just gotten over the war, the public believes that literature should focus more on positivity. The older generation might also have this sense of an american dream, and because of this, makes them shocked to see something more dark.
4) She was bothered by the letters saying that people wanted to watch, even though is a fiction. Also people tend to be more unrelated to the actual plot of the story and more on the desire to smash her work.
5) The darkness in the story was meant to shock the audience, as well as show the deeper meaning of inhumanity that occurred during that time in WWII.
6)How the idea of the lottery came to be. The true meaning of the story.
7) Satire was our best points.
Satire- Bobby martian stuffing his pockets full of stones and the other boys creating piles, Women's Role joke-"Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink, now, would you. Joe?, The people making jokes about Tessie being late. They do not follow the procedure of the lottery.
ReplyDeleteISIS Stoning people. The classification of people and their self asserted places.
Outrage- The people were upset due to the grim ending and the plot twist because they were expecting a happy ending, they do not find the dark humor funny.
The Letters- Shirley Jackson is upset because the lack of literacy and common understanding of the definition of fiction.
Quote- She is saying the lottery is showing the useless violence and pointless killing in the world
Why is there a brutal ending with out explanation-Abrupt and why dose she make it start off happy.
Theory- She is trying to invoke an evolving standard of decency.
Shayna, Jacob, Maddie, Dakota
ReplyDeleteWe think that Shirley Jackson satirized traditions such as the box wearing out, paper substituting wood chips, and the stopping of singing in the lottery to make it take less time.
The story can specifically connect to today because there are many traditions that people have that most likely will never be changed, such as grades having certain places to park in the parking lot.
People were so upset about this story because there was sadistic practices and showing of inhumanity by the lottery, and the people thought Shirley Jackson was centering it on them.
Shirley Jackson was most bothered about the reason people contacted her about her story. It was not about what the story meant, but it was about wanting to know where lotteries were held and if they could go and watch them.
Our group’s response to this quote was that we realized the author’s overall message by writing this story. Shirley Jackson hoped that she could open the reader’s eyes to see the pointless violence and inhumanity shown in lives in the world today by “The Lottery.”
Some things that we still have questions about are why people were so impacted by the story and why Shirley Jackson decided to write this story during the height of Communism and the Soviet Union?
Some of the best points that our group came up with were that the lottery was like a ritual where one person was sacrificed each year so that the town could have a good harvest. Another point our group came up with was that traditions can overtake society and hide people from believing what is morally right.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat are some of the things that you think she is satirizing?
ReplyDeleteSatanic rituals,fraternities, belief that sacrifice or other superstitious things that "enhance" agricultural growth. She is also satirizing sexism which is shown through the fact that the women are responsible for the dishes and cannot draw for their husbands.
How do you think the story can specifically connect to today?
I think this story can connect to modern fraternity and the potentially dangerous hazing or dangerous things they do to inductees.
Why do you think people were so upset about this story?
I think people were so upset because they did not understand it and the fact it may not have been "happy". These are important because people tend to fear the unknown which leads them to do irrational things. As well, people generally expect happy (things) stories to make them feel better and tend to dislike (things) stories that are gloomy and challenge reality.
What was Shirley Jackson most bothered about when it comes to the letters the magazine received? I believe she she was moth bothered about the fact that all but 13 of the letters were negative.
Discuss this quote: I think her idea was very cool, especially because it is so crucial for this realization. In the teenage world we have "jokes" but most of these jokes are targeting a person or defining characteristic such as hair color,weight, or sex. Which can lead to suicide, mental illness, and a multitude of problems because of peoples lack of general humanity and compassion.
What are some of the things you still have questions about with this story or the biography? I am curious why the New Yorker purchased the story even if he did not like it. I am also curious why people would want to find and watch this.
What are some of the things that you think she is satirizing?
ReplyDeleteSatanic rituals,fraternities, belief that sacrifice or other superstitious things that "enhance" agricultural growth. She is also satirizing sexism which is shown through the fact that the women are responsible for the dishes and cannot draw for their husbands.
How do you think the story can specifically connect to today?
I think this story can connect to modern fraternity and the potentially dangerous hazing or dangerous things they do to inductees.
Why do you think people were so upset about this story?
I think people were so upset because they did not understand it and the fact it may not have been "happy". These are important because people tend to fear the unknown which leads them to do irrational things. As well, people generally expect happy (things) stories to make them feel better and tend to dislike (things) stories that are gloomy and challenge reality.
What was Shirley Jackson most bothered about when it comes to the letters the magazine received? I believe she she was moth bothered about the fact that all but 13 of the letters were negative.
Discuss this quote: I think her idea was very cool, especially because it is so crucial for this realization. In the teenage world we have "jokes" but most of these jokes are targeting a person or defining characteristic such as hair color,weight, or sex. Which can lead to suicide, mental illness, and a multitude of problems because of peoples lack of general humanity and compassion.
What are some of the things you still have questions about with this story or the biography? I am curious why the New Yorker purchased the story even if he did not like it. I am also curious why people would want to find and watch this.
What are some of the things that you think she is satirizing?
ReplyDeleteSatanic rituals,fraternities, belief that sacrifice or other superstitious things that "enhance" agricultural growth. She is also satirizing sexism which is shown through the fact that the women are responsible for the dishes and cannot draw for their husbands.
How do you think the story can specifically connect to today?
I think this story can connect to modern fraternity and the potentially dangerous hazing or dangerous things they do to inductees.
Why do you think people were so upset about this story?
I think people were so upset because they did not understand it and the fact it may not have been "happy". These are important because people tend to fear the unknown which leads them to do irrational things. As well, people generally expect happy (things) stories to make them feel better and tend to dislike (things) stories that are gloomy and challenge reality.
What was Shirley Jackson most bothered about when it comes to the letters the magazine received? I believe she she was moth bothered about the fact that all but 13 of the letters were negative.
Discuss this quote: I think her idea was very cool, especially because it is so crucial for this realization. In the teenage world we have "jokes" but most of these jokes are targeting a person or defining characteristic such as hair color,weight, or sex. Which can lead to suicide, mental illness, and a multitude of problems because of peoples lack of general humanity and compassion.
What are some of the things you still have questions about with this story or the biography? I am curious why the New Yorker purchased the story even if he did not like it. I am also curious why people would want to find and watch this.