"The Lottery" Comprehension

Which detail is revealed in the exposition?

• It is June 27th.

• The villagers have gathered for the lottery.

• It is a warm, sunny day.

• All of these

Which statement below is a valid theme of "The Lottery"?

• All lotteries should be outlawed.

• Small towns are full of evil people.

• Blindly following traditions of the past can be dangerous.

• All of these

Which excerpt below best supports your answer to the previous question?

• "Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual of the black box, they still remembered to use stones. The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready..."

• "The lottery was conducted - as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program - by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.."

• "There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr. Summers declared the lottery open. There were lists to make up - of heads of families, heads of households in each family, members of each household in each family."

• "Although Mr. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally."

Why is the title, "The Lottery", ironic?

• Because the story doesn't involve a lottery at all

• Because the reader expects that the winner will receive a prize

• Because the reader can easily predict what is going to happen in the story

• Because all lotteries have different rules, and this one is no exception

Which excerpt from the story below includes imagery (sensory details)?

• "The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born."

• "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green."

• Chips of wood, Mr. Summers had argued, had been all very well when the village was tiny, but now that the population was more than three hundred and likely to keep growing, it was necessary to use something that would fit more easily into the black box."

• "Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box."

Which of the following events is most important to the development of the plot?

• Tessie Hutchinson was late for the lottery gathering.

• Bobby Martin was scolded by his father.

• Bill Hutchinson drew the paper with the black spot on it.

• Harry helped Little Dave draw his slip of paper.

Which event below occurs during the story's climax?

• The crowd is relieved when Dave's paper is blank.

• Boys run around the square gathering stones.

• Mr. Summers says that they must finish quickly.

• Bill Hutchinson reveals Tessie's black-spotted paper to the crowd.

Which statement below about allegory is false?

• An allegory is often political, historical, religious, social, or philosophical.

• Shirley Jackson did not intend for "The Lottery" to be an allegory.

• An allegory has two levels of meaning.

• An allegory is a story that has a plot, setting, and characters.

Read the excerpt below and then answer the question that follows.

"He [Mr. Summers] made a note on the list that he was holding. Then he asked, "Watson boy drawing this year?"

A tall boy in the crowd raised his hand. "Here," he said. "I'm drawing for my mother and me." He blinked his eyes nervously and ducked his head as several voices in the crowd said things like "Good fellow" and "Glad to see your mother's got a man to do it."

What does the author want you to infer about the Watson boy's father?

• He was killed in a previous lottery.

• He is at home in bed sick.

• He died of an unknown illness.

• He was older than most of the other villagers.

Many objects in "The Lottery" have symbolic meaning. What is one symbolic meaning of the black spot drawn into the slip of paper?

• love

• death

• community

• trust