English 101 group discussions from November of 2012.   They are responding to and citing from two essays that offer opposing views of euthanasia.










A short video from English 102 in the spring of 2009.

Essays

My Grandma, What Evil Tendencies You Have:
A Literary Analysis of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”

by Sarah Muldowney

            As human nature has evolved, our individual tendencies towards evil have become overshadowed by civilized behaviors and decency.  However, no matter how shadowed human tendencies can become, when given the right circumstances, these behaviors can overpower an individual’s desire toward goodness. Author Shirley Jackson exemplifies the incongruous combination of morality and evil in human nature, and mans tendency to project these undesired qualities. Through her use of tone and characterization, Jackson envelops her reader into a world of hidden but existent evil tendencies in people, where individual predisposition combined with conformity and habit create a dangerous game; “The Lottery”.

            Jackson’s story begins on a warm summer morning. It is June 27^th, and the small village of approximately three hundred people begins assembling for their annual lottery. While waiting to start the procession, the village boys collect stones while the young girls stand aside, talking and watching. The women solemnly gossip and the men joke quietly. The predominant mood amongst the locals appears common enough.  Mr. Summers, the lotteries conductor, and Mr. Graves, his postman, begin calling the head of each family to draw a piece of paper out of the traditional black lottery box. After each individual has drawn, they open their folded slips. The slip with the black spot indicates that the Hutchinson family is chosen. Each member of the family draws again, revealing the final winner to be the mother, Tessie Hutchinson. She is then put into the center of a cleared space and stoned to death by everyone present, a scapegoat, sacrificed to ensure the community a good harvest.

            The characterization of protagonist Mrs. Hutchinson clearly demonstrates the wickedness existing deep in all of us. Arriving late to the event with the nervous excuse of forgetting the day’s importance, Mrs. Hutchinson appears friendly and good humored. When her husband is called to draw the family’s slip she remarks, “Get up there, Bill,” encouraging a laugh from the crowd. It is only when the Hutchinson’s receive the black marked paper that the real personality of the misses is revealed.  Her fear and selfishness overcome her. She begins by blaming Mr. Summers for not giving Bill enough time to select the slip he wanted. Then, she even turns on her own daughter. “There’s Don and Eva,” she screams, “Make them take their chance!” She continues her complaints up until she receives the black marked slip and is stoned to death. Ironically, her children, conforming to the once ritualistic and now habitual event, gather stones and assist in her sacrifice.  Mrs. Hutchinson’s character shows the reader how, when put into the right situation (in this case, faced with death) an individual who appears moral and civilized, can fall back to their natural tendencies.

            The entire tone of Jackson’s work reinforces her examination of the hidden evils in human nature. The event is portrayed to the reader as a rather cheery time, similar to Halloween programs and teenage clubs. “The morning of June 27^th [is] clear and sunny,” writes Jackson, “with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers [are] blossoming profusely and the grass [is] richly green.” As the people begin to gather, their dominant behaviors appear friendly. The women chat, the men joke, the children play with their surrounding resources. But glimpses of an underlying tension begin appearing in the characters behaviors.  While the men socialize prior to the event “their jokes [are] quiet, and they [smile] rather than [laugh].” The villagers hesitate to assist Mr. Summers in positioning the black voting box. And, as the voting starts, the contenders demonstrate feelings of unease. Mrs. Delacroix “[holds] her breath” as she watches her husband go forward to draw a slip. Mr. Summers and Mr. Adams “[grin] at one another humorlessly and nervously.” Jackson creates a central mood in her piece, and for awhile, the reader is left to think that this event is nothing but casual; a lottery drawing with a money reward. But Jackson’s situation influences a subtle underlying tension amongst the villagers. Through the use of tone, the author demonstrates a paralleled theme, a prevailing mood with a concealed but existing contradictory mood. The described excitement of the lottery with the fear felt by its contender’s develops the larger idea of human’s ultimate desire to be moral with natural tendencies toward evil.   

            Characters Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves further symbolize the apparent tone of Jackson’s piece.  Mr. Summers represents the face of the lottery; his name skillfully symbolizing the dominant mood of the story. Described as “very good at all this,” he arranges the entire event, from preparing the paper slips to mediating the final drawing by joking with the contenders and continuing the event carelessly with no conscience. Mr. Graves, his postman, on the other hand, represents Jackson’s underlying theme. He is constantly present but never in the spotlight, as is the fear in the contenders and the evil tendencies of human nature.  The unapparent threat of Graves name and personality foreshadows the present but suppressed evils in all ordinary individuals.

            The lottery begins in this small village as a form of ritual. Its initial purpose is to sacrifice a human as a way to ensure healthy crops. When Jackson’s story is written, the original village ritual has been lost. The villagers have forgotten the importance of their tradition and instead continue it out of habit. To them, the lottery is an excuse to exhibit evil tendencies. Although there has been talk of removing the lottery and changing its traditions, the people of the town resist these changes, fully aware of the consequences involved. Jackson’s story, through characterization and tone, shows that although people have civilly evolved, human nature comes with evil tendencies, and although they may not be as extreme today, individuals still find ways to fulfill their wicked predispositions. Technology has created video games allowing us to satisfy violent fantasies, but even solving problems through age old war is a tradition still in existence today that keeps evil tendencies alive. Even religions, those which preach good morals in an attempt to inhibit man’s evil inclinations, have used violence in an attempt to do right. “The Lottery” reminds us that, although we have evolved, natural tendencies still exists, and when put i