Reading and Viewing for Shirley Jackson's short story, The Lottery

1. Have a listen to an NBC Audio recording of The Lottery here: http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=19477.  




      Enrichment: Consider listening to some of the other podcasts or radio downloads.  I remember falling asleep at night listening to a radio show called The Shadow.  It certainly enriched my dreams! 
     




2. Read up on Shirley Jackson here: http://shirleyjackson.org/ 


3. Shirley Jackson is an author who has experienced having her work banned or censored.  Read up on this here: http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/124073-banning-and-censorship-of-the-lottery-by-shirley-jackson/

     Question: Why do you think this story has been banned in this way?  Do you think this tale might be met with similar opposition in some parts of the world today?  Where?  Why or why not?

4. Many of the stories we see or hear today have been borrowed from other stories. The Simpsons have produced an episode referencing this story.  This is called remediation.  Consider for example, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games.  What similarities can you find between this novel and Shirley Jackson's, The Lottery? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dead Crows and Other Mysteries

Image
(Image: Oil Painting by Kirsti Ann Wakelin) The other evening I dreamt I found a dead crow caught behind the cushions of my sofa. Disturbing. How did it get there, in my dream, so concrete and visible? And what does it mean? Carl Jung would have me analyze the significance of this dream as it connects to our collective consciousness. What do crows symbolize in our culture today? Was this a visit from Poe? Has a Haida raven dropped by to keep me on my toes? Or is the recent death of my grandfather somehow "couched" in my internal dialogue? He was a storyteller. Even more intriguing is what happened when I relayed this dream story to my grade 8's. Picking up a new book of poetry and opening it randomly the first poem I fell upon was Jon Silkin's "Carved", the first two lines: Two small dogs stood by a dead black bird And the black bird was very dead. There is no denying death. The dead are dead. As with Silkin's black bird. As with
Read more

Are You Normal?

Pre writing assignment for Ken Kesey 's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Normal : - adj . 1. conforming to a standard; regular, usual, typical. 2. to flee from mental or emotional disorder. 3. Geom . (of a line) at right angles, temperature etc. [Latin normalis: related to norm] - Oxford Dictionary What is normal? Should everyone be normal? Who gets to decide what is normal and what is not? Why? Is there a purpose to opposing the construct of normal? You are invited to post comments that reflect on the idea of normal.
Read more

Message and Meaning . . .

Image
I encountered this graffiti one night when I was out looking for photo ops. What do you suppose the artist means by this message? (Note to students: please remember to post your comments by first name only. Pose a personal response, argument or question that will contribute to creating a forum for thoughtful discussion.)
Read more