Tessie is symbolic of
the scapegoat
in “The Lottery,” which is sacrificed in ritual atonement for the sins of the tribe. However, she is also an average member of the tribe who sees nothing wrong with the system until she is selected.
How is Tessie characterized in the lottery?
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” Tessie Hutchinson is first characterized as
a harried housewife who has simply forgotten that it is lottery day until she notices her husband and children are gone
. … Her defiance intensifies, and her husband has to pry her paper from her hand.
How is Tessie a scapegoat in the lottery?
Tessie becomes a scapegoat,
because she is the unlucky lottery winner
. How quickly the townspeople pick up their rocks! Mrs. Delacroix “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” to stone to death the woman with whom only minutes before she had been making small talk.
What does symbolize in the lottery?
The lottery represents
any action, behavior, or idea that is passed down from one generation to the next that’s accepted
and followed unquestioningly, no matter how illogical, bizarre, or cruel. … Nevertheless, the lottery continues, simply because there has always been a lottery.
Why do they stone Tessie in the lottery?
Tessie is stoned
to death because she’s the “winner” of the lottery
. The townspeople seem to believe that unless they sacrifice one of their own, crops will fail. It’s an old tradition, and very few think to question it at all.
What are examples of scapegoating in the lottery?
Some of the most influential scapegoats consist of
Jesus Christ taking suffering for the sins of civilization
, the Jewish population being punished for the problems in Germany, and more recently the U.S. citizens who perished in 9/11 being punished for the sins of America.
Why was Tessie Hutchinson singled out as the winner?
Tessie Hutchinson is singled out as the “winner”
because she protested against the tradition of the lottery by saying “it isn’t fair
.” As she protested, everyone even her own husband and three children joined in stoning her to death. … It could be considered ironic because the winner gets stoned to death.
Who killed Tessie in the lottery?
Those who are responsible for Tessie’s death are her husband Bill, the town’s elder Old Man Warner, and the town’s society as a whole. One person responsible for Tessie’s death is
her static husband Bill Hutchinson
.
Who is the most important character in the lottery?
Tessie Hutchinson, a housewife
, is the story’s main character and the winner—or victim—of the lottery. She’s the mother of four, one married daughter and three young children, and the wife of Bill Hutchinson.
Is Tessie Mrs Hutchinson in the lottery?
Tessie
participates in the lottery
and seems lighthearted about it as she makes jokes, and when it is her time and she is making a scene, Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs.
What are 3 symbols in the lottery?
The most prominent symbols in “The Lottery” are:
the black box, the stool, the slips of paper, the stones, and most importantly, the lottery itself
. The lottery in Jackson’s story becomes an ironic symbol, because of the reader’s anticipation and background knowledge of how lotteries work.
What does the stones represent in the lottery?
The stones that the villagers use to kill the victim selected by the lottery are mentioned periodically throughout the story. This repetition develops the stones as a symbol of
the violence that humans are seemingly always prepared to commit
.
What is the irony in the lottery?
The title of the story itself is ironic because
the idea of a lottery usually involves a reward for the winner
whereas, in this case, the “winner” of the lottery is stoned to death instead. The irony continues in the opening description as the narrator paints a cheery picture of a bright and beautiful summer day.
Did Tessie get killed in the lottery?
The unlucky loser of the lottery. Tessie draws the paper with the black mark on it and is
stoned to death
.
Why was the lottery banned?
It is almost certain that South Africa banned this story because they
felt it to be an anti-apartheid story
. If this was banned because it was an attack on brutal and unquestioned traditions, like apartheid, it is difficult to consider this banning as anything but a positive endorsement of the meaning of the story.
Do you agree with Mrs Hutchinson is the lottery unfair?
Answer:
Mrs. Hutchinson does not find the lottery unfair
, until her husband is picked as a winner. It is only when the lottery directly affects her life that she complains about it.
