The Lottery

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the play over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Identify the situational irony employed by Jackson and explain its impact on the audience.

• How is the lottery in the story different from what the audience likely expected? (topic sentence)
• Identify passages that explain the lottery, including the drawing process and the conclusion of the lottery.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain the situational irony of the lottery and how it impacts the audience.

2. The setting of “The Lottery” affects the story in various ways.

• How does the small-town setting affect the actions and interactions of the characters? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least three passages describing the small-town setting, including the people who live there and their traditions. 
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain the impact of the setting on the theme of Small Towns and Small Minds.

3. Describe Old Man Warner, his beliefs, and his role in the story.

• How would you describe Old Man Warner and his beliefs about the lottery? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least three passages, including dialogue and actions, that describe Old Man Warner. 
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain Old Man Warner’s impact on the thematic motif of Small Towns and Small Minds.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Read the description of the black box carefully (Paragraph 5). In a complete essay, explain what the black box symbolizes, particularly in relation to the theme of Small Towns and Small Minds. Support your ideas with specific textual examples from the story. Please remember to cite all direct quotes and paraphrased examples with paragraph numbers.

2. Tessie Hutchinson is The Scapegoat in “The Lottery.” To begin, research a society that employed a scapegoat or human sacrifice. Write an essay in which you connect your research to The Scapegoat in “The Lottery.” Consider the following: What similarities exist between your research and “The Lottery”? What differences exist? What do scapegoats explain about human nature? Support your ideas with specific textual examples from “The Lottery” and from your research. Please remember to cite all direct quotes and paraphrased examples.

3. In the New Yorker article “The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson” by Zoë Heller, the author writes about Shirley Jackson: “Jackson’s adult life was ostensibly a rebellion against her mother and her mother’s values. She became a writer; she grew fat; she married a Jewish intellectual, Stanley Edgar Hyman...But she never quite shook Geraldine’s [her mother’s] tentacular grip, or ceased to be tormented by her disapproval. And in her marriage to Hyman she found a person with whom to replicate the abusive relationship.” In a complete essay, explore how Jackson’s personal experiences may be reflected in “The Lottery,” particularly through the theme of The Cruelty of Friends and Family. Support your ideas with specific textual examples from “The Lottery” and from any other research on Jackson’s life. Please remember to cite all direct quotes and paraphrased examples.