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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is everyone participating, even the Hutchinson children?
(a) Because they are all hypnotized.
(b) Because they will be jailed if they do not.
(c) Because it is a village activity.
(d) Because they have nothing better to do.

2. In general, what type of village is the setting of the story?
(a) A mining village.
(b) A manufacturing village.
(c) A farming village.
(d) A retirement village.

3. What does Tessie's paper mean?
(a) She has been chosen.
(b) She will have to draw again.
(c) She gets to select the winner.
(d) She is out of the lottery.

4. What element of surprise does Jackson use in the story?
(a) That the government steps in and stops the lottery.
(b) That the community does not know what the
(c) Winning a lottery is usually a good thing and not something to dread.
(d) That Tessie sacrifices herself for her children.

5. What are the men doing before it is time for the lottery to begin?
(a) Standing in a group talking about tractors and rain.
(b) Standing together and talking about women.
(c) Standing in a group but not talking.
(d) Standing together and talking politics.

6. What does Jackson suggest about civic prominence in the character of Mr. Summers.
(a) That everyone is equal regardless of wealth.
(b) That Summers has no real power in the village.
(c) That wealth is the standard for importance.
(d) That age is the criterion for civic leadership.

7. How do they list the villagers before the lottery begins?
(a) In alphabetical order.
(b) From the youngest to the oldest.
(c) From the oldest to the youngest.
(d) By heads of families.

8. Why does the lottery begin late in this village?
(a) Because someone forgot to prepar the lottery slips of paper.
(b) Because they have trouble locating the lottery box.
(c) Because there are so few people, the drawing only last a few hours.
(d) Because it took longer for the boys to find stones.

9. How does Jackson suggest that tradition may be questioned?
(a) Old man Warner compares it to the Stone Age.
(b) The village is getting smaller so tradition may die out.
(c) Some people oppose the lottery and some villages have already stopped it.
(d) A lot about the lottery has been forgotten.

10. What is Jackson's main theme in the story?
(a) The value of human life.
(b) The need for change in a community.
(c) The need for tradition in small towns.
(d) The stupidity of blindly following tradition.

11. How many people live in the village?
(a) Just under 1,000.
(b) Less than 100.
(c) 3,446.
(d) About 300.

12. What type of story is THE LOTTERY?
(a) A history.
(b) A drama.
(c) A satire.
(d) A comedy.

13. Who is the last person accounted for before the lottery begins?
(a) The tall Watson boy.
(b) Old man Warner.
(c) Tessie Hutchinson.
(d) Mrs. Dunbar.

14. What is Mr. Zanini's distinction at the lottery?
(a) He is the first one to draw in the lottery.
(b) He is the oldest man at the lottery.
(c) He is the only single man there.
(d) He is the last one to draw a slip from the black box.

15. What is Tessie doing in the center of the circle of her friends, neighbors, and family?
(a) Dancing the lottery jig.
(b) Holding out her hands and crying that it is not fair.
(c) Gloating that she is the winner.
(d) Sitting on a makeshift throne.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Jackson's first element of surprise in the story?

2. What is the age of majority in the village?

3. What trouble does Bobby Martin get into?

4. What does the lottery hint at?

5. What is Mr. Summers' position in the town?

(see the answer keys)

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