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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 the traditional job of the village boys on Lottery Day?

2. Is Mr. Summers exempt from the lottery?

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

4. What does Mr. Summers carry onto the village square?

5. Who tells the boys what to do on the morning of the lottery?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jackson draw the reader into the spirit of the lottery?

2. According to the rules of the lottery, how long does the stoning go on?

3. Who participates in the subsequent activity?

4. How is the black spot finally revealed?

5. How do the children react to their school holiday?

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

7. What excuse does Tessie make for being late?

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

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

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

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 comparing THE LOTTERY with the infamous Salem witch trials. What is the common psychological thread that runs through the people of the village and the citizens of Salem intent on removing witches?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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