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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is everyone participating, even the Hutchinson children?

2. How do most of the villagers appear to regard the lottery?

3. What finally happens with Tessie?

4. What is stressed as important to the lottery all through the story?

5. What does Jackson suggest about civic prominence in the character of Mr. Summers.

Short Essay Questions

1. Have there ever been deviations from tradition in the past? What are they?

2. Describe the men as they assemble for the lottery.

3. Why have they made the switch to paper slips this year?

4. Eventually, how do the people assemble as they wait for the lottery?

5. What does Mr. Adams discuss with Old man Warner?

6. This time, who comes forward to draw slips of paper from the box?

7. What happens next after it is settled that Bill Hutchinson holds the paper with the black dot?

8. Are other lotteries still being held in other villages?

9. How does Jackson make the scene seem like a normal village fair?

10. What does Mr. Summers do when he calls out his own name?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write two or three paragraphs on the character of Mrs. Delacroix. Use your imagination to explain why she selected the largest stone she could find to throw at Tessie.

Essay Topic 2

Write a paper on surprise endings to short stories that are humorous instead of macabre. [If you do not know one, read O'Henry's THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF for this assignment.]

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper comparing THE LOTTERY with humiliating and sometimes dangerous club initiations. Discuss such things as humane treatment, anxiety of the initiates, and the moral correctness of the proceedings.

(see the answer keys)

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