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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. What is happening when they make any change in the lottery procedure?

2. How does Jackson suggest that tradition may be questioned?

3. Who is to draw for the Watson family?

4. What does Mrs. Delacroix have in her hands?

5. In a large village, how long might the lottery last?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the heads of families instructed to do with their slips of paper?

2. What request do Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves make of the villagers and who volunteers?

3. Who is called after Mrs. Dunbar, showing that no one is left out of the lottery?

4. How does the Martin family make the scene appear like a gathering of everyday families?

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

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

7. What does Mrs. Delacroix do to participate in the stoning?

8. What formality occurs before the lottery is officially open?

9. What does Tessie Hutchinson do when she realizes that Bill has the paper?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write two or three paragraphs in which you discuss whether Tessie Hutchinson had a premonition that she would draw the black spot. Decide if you think Shirley Jackson had that idea in mind as she wrote THE LOTTERY.

Essay Topic 2

Write a paper explaining how traditions may change over time. Traditions are usually handed down by example or word of mouth. How would this make it easy for change to happen?

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper about how children might be affected by the violence of the lottery. What will Davie Hutchinson be like when he is a teenager?

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This section contains 577 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample