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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 does Jackson hint in the story when Tessie is very late arriving?

2. Why does the lottery begin late in this village?

3. What is Jackson satirizing by having the children participate so willingly in the stoning?

4. What is on each of the children's papers?

5. What does Tessie's paper mean?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is different about this year's lottery?

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

3. Mostly the townspeople seem to look forward to the lottery. What comment is Jackson making on human nature at this point?

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

5. After Mrs. Dunbar has spoken up, what does Mr. Summers ask about the Watsons?

6. Who participates in the subsequent activity?

7. Whose name was the first to be called up for the lottery?

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

9. Why is the lottery held later in the morning in this particular village?

10. At what point in the story does Jackson raise the question of what's going on with her readers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write two or three paragraphs about how a tradition was defeated in the USA. [For example, you might write about Women's Suffrage and how they got the right to vote.]

Essay Topic 2

Write a paper where the towns people hold a meeting to decide if they will do away with the lottery. Use the characters from Shirley Jackson's story. Who, besides Old man Warner, will oppose the idea of doing away with it?

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper on what you believe Shirley Jackson is satirizing in THE LOTTERY. Explain whether you think there is a religious undertone to the story.

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