Read the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Then, in the comments, write about your reaction to the story’s shocking ending. What is Jackson attempting to highlight or teach us through this story? Look at this tone word list and find an example of a tone in one of the paragraphs of the short story and include this example and your commentary in your comment.
24 Comments
mia brown
3/24/2020 05:34:58 am
the ending had me shocked because Mrs. Hutchinson was basically crying out how it wasn't fair , but still ended up getting attacked by villagers. in the beginning i would say the tone is candid because she starts it off talking about a clear and sunny summer, then it goes into somewhat of a serious because of the outcome when the lottery comes to light.
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Courtney Anglin
3/24/2020 09:47:46 am
Right it was like instant karma.
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Cameron Tracy
3/24/2020 06:11:27 am
The ending of this story went from 0 to 100 real quick. Mrs Hutchinson was surprised attacked with a stone after she had been whining about how this was unfair. The tone was apprehensive to me throughout the story, especially up to the end. The story seemed to vague and wasn't giving enough to the reader until what happened at the end.
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Shy Jack
3/24/2020 06:17:49 am
The ending shocked me. It ended so abruptly, the villagers close in on Tessie, but the author never reflects on the aftermath of Tessie's murder. It left me wondering how did the villagers feel. The tone at the beginning is very pleasant and gentle.
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Bella Van
3/24/2020 06:36:09 am
I was incredibly shocked by the ending of this story throughout the story the lottery sounds like a happy time and a good get together for the community. But as the story continues it gets increasingly intense. I think the author is trying to teach the readers that complaining will make situations worse as Mrs.Hutchinson continuously whined she was the one in the end that lost. The tone in the story is lugubrious, as the people in the story are anxiously waiting on what is going to happen next.
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Reagan Gallman
3/24/2020 07:20:54 am
That is a really good point, I didn't even think about that. Not only did Tessie come late, she complained and tried to make excuses when her family drew the marked piece of paper. I'm not saying she deserved it, but they portrayed her character in such a way.
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Courtney Anglin
3/24/2020 09:50:03 am
I completely agree and it was kinda sad how in the end she ended up drawing the slip, but like you said you didn’t feel as bad for her by the way the author made her character out to be.
Reagan Gallman
3/24/2020 07:19:06 am
This story was so surreal. The approach the topic of death with a very callous tone. They build the story like the lottery is a good thing, that you'll win something. But really "winning" means losing your life.
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Kalana Garner
3/24/2020 08:44:59 am
Agreed, the author showed how something good can turn into something bad. Jackson did a good job of drawing in the readers and making the readers (everyone in the comments) shocked by the outcome.
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Monee Judkins
3/24/2020 07:50:13 am
I was speechless by the ending, I thought that this was a happy event I didn't think anybody would have to die by the lottery. I believe the author is trying to show people that everything is not what it seems, clearly by everybody's attitudes you would not have thought a person would be stoned to death. For the tone I am going between anxious and vindictive, the people seem like they wanna hurry and get this whole thing over with, however at the end its almost as if they are ready to stone Mr. Hutchinson.
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Macey Lawrence
3/24/2020 08:41:13 am
The story ending was very shocking. At first you think that the lottery was a happy time and that something good would come at the end with who got picked, but then the story begins to have a darker tone to it right at the end and you begin to see that the lottery is not a good thing. I believe the author begins the story very vague with details about what the lottery actually is in order to have us be surprised at the ending of the story. The story had an expectant tone because the author kept us waiting for what would happen at the end of the story and what the out come of the lottery would be.
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Kalana Garner
3/24/2020 08:42:13 am
The ending was unexpected. The tone changed drastically from in the beginning of the story where she had talked about it being a sunny day and then the end where she had been screaming out “this isn’t fair.” Jackson’s attempt to highlight the fact that at beginning the story was good and the people were happy, at the end Jackson changed the tone and showed how something bad can come out of something good.
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Courtney Anglin
3/24/2020 09:47:06 am
The beginning was pleasant and gentle and then at the end when Tessie drew hers and it had a dot on it I thought that it would lighten up and she would be happy. But then the author referred back to the pile of stones and that’s when I was like what the heck is going on. And while reading the story I was thinking is this going to be like an episode of rick and morty like when the went to a different planet and they had the purge except this one only one person dies. It really had me bent, and then the story ended so abruptly that I was just shocked.
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alisha gonzalez
3/24/2020 09:52:36 am
The ending was very ominous and grim. The beginning of the story did not correlate with the tone and the events slowly got tense. Tessie's tone is indignant after the lottery drawing. She complained about how things weren't fair which ultimately led her to be bashed with stones.
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adriana irizarry
3/24/2020 10:08:42 am
The ending of this story was extremely twisted. When hearing the word "lottery", I thought of winning something grand, but in this case, you are winning defeat. A lesson shown in this story is that you cannot blame someone else for something that happens by chance. The tone in one of the paragraphs Tessie was speaking in was accusatory. This is when you blame others for something. She did this when her husband got the black dot on his sheet of paper. She expressed that Mr. Summers was targeting her family, and did not allow enough time for the proper paper to be selected. In reality, each person got the same amount of time to pick their paper.
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Trevor Lovett
3/24/2020 11:56:08 am
The ending really shocked me. I was not thinking that the lottery was killing a person each year with stones. I thought they were getting money. The last part of the story was ironic. It was different than what i expected. The story teaches me that people are okay if other people are getting hurt but if they are the ones getting hurt then its not fair. Tessie was enthusiastic about the lottery but then she was the one picked and she was saying that it was not fair.
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morgan hill
3/24/2020 12:26:01 pm
This story was very shocking and unexpected in the end. I learned that many people care about change. The villagers obviously enjoy this "lottery" they like to see others getting hurt as long as its not themselves. Also, showed how much one can care for another. Tessie wanted a redraw because she didn't want her husband to be hurt. so she put her life and kids in chance of being stoned. This story had a very hopeful tone "like who is going to get it" but this turned very dark very quickly.
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Liam Phillips-Denson
3/24/2020 02:08:00 pm
The most shocking part of this story was the joy the villagers got from attacking Mrs.Hutchinson. Otherwise it was predictable that the lottery was something sinister but the story does a great job at building suspense throughout the paragraphs by refusing to tell the readers what the lottery truly is. The beginning of the story was a wholesome experience that turned tense and sinister towards the end.
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Patrick Dill
3/24/2020 07:34:58 pm
As the ending approached, I found the most uncomfortable part of the story to be the villagers' dedication to the ritual that many know and believe is wrong, and willingness to teach their children that this is a happy, playful time even though it will engrave the ritual into the future generation.
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Patrick Dill
3/24/2020 07:37:21 pm
Early in the passage, many participants in the lottery are calm, direct, and even amused, but as the passage progresses, these turn to cynical accusations.
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Nneka okere
3/24/2020 07:36:35 pm
It was shocking how they thought that the other villages discontinuing the lottery was stupid and how much they enjoyed the lottery and torturing people. Clearly the villagers enjoy it because they call it the lottery and they don’t care what happens as long as nothing happens to them. The ending was grim because it mentions early in the story that the kids were gathering stones but you didn’t know why. The beginning is also not grim so you don’t know what’s coming. The ending literally gave me whiplash it was very random
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Dianna Aguilar
3/24/2020 08:08:34 pm
The ending to the story was shocking. The story was trying to teach us how even though she complained she still got attacked at the end. The tone of the story to me was kinda bitter in the end of the story.
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Kyra Jarvis
3/24/2020 08:22:18 pm
The ending didn't really surprise me, there was a tone of insidious intent throughout the story. It had an air of something not right pretty much the whole time. The black box and the carelessness of how it was treated (ie. carelessness of where it was stored when not used for the lottery) definitely made it feel like this wasn't something to be excited about. The fact that its black too just gives it away.
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Tara Scott
3/24/2020 08:52:46 pm
The ending of this story caught me off guard because the people of her village, her so called friends, stoned her out of greed. I feel the author was trying to teach us not to be greedy because of Mrs. Hutchinson’s inability to accept that she lost. And with that, jealousy arose in the village causing them to stone her. The tone of this story was both morose and envious. The thought that the people of your community could result in harming you because of their jealousy is extremely depressing. Old Man Warner saw how people had changed and let things like this over come them, which was also saddening.
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