Tolerance and Open-Mindedness

Donoghue contrasts the readers’ initial perception of the Lotterys – that they are extremely tolerant and open-minded—with their struggle to accept Grumps’ viewpoint in order to argue that tolerance is more than the acknowledgement of differences in identity, but the conscious working towards understanding and accepting others at an emotional level.

At the novel’s opening, Donoghue concentrates on exploring the unique identity characteristics of the Lottery family – the seven children in the family are each extremely different in terms of personality, interests, and maturity, and each have a different ethnic background as well. The four parents also hail from four different areas of the world, and bring diverse life experiences and parenthood styles to the family table. The Lottery children are thus exposed to a wealth of different perspectives in their childhood, including different languages – English and Hindi – and different socioeconomic statuses, as...