DAY 10

AGENDA

1. Reading secondary criticism for meaning.
2.Read:  Peter Kosenko: A reading of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"
3. Answer the questions to guide you in your understanding of secondary criticism.

OUR ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS

1. thesis: “idealogical mechanism” = the lottery is used to reinforce the social order of the town and keep the power in the hands of those who control the lottery.

Question 2

1. reinforces the social order of rich and poor
2. the tradition reinforces the illusion of democracy because everyone participates
3. the townsfolk believe that the harder you work the less likely you are to be chosen in the lottery.
4. the lottery reinforces the fact that you need to work hard, which means that the “poor” people must work harder while those with money look like they work hard because they have money. the class system is reinforced.
5. The necessity of a scapegoat in order to reinforce the social structure.

Peter Kosenko’s article pros and cons:

1. good ideas - his points are well thought out and he backs up his points.
2. well researched, he uses excellent proof to back up his arguments (when he finally gets around to them)
3. sentence structure is difficult to follow and understand
4. disorganized logic - he has a good argument but the order it is presented makes it hard to follow
5. structure of the article is difficult to follow
6. introduction was too lengthy and didn’t connect to the argument he eventually made
7. so not all information he offered had to do with his thesis.

 HOMEWORK: Choose ONE of the two secondary criticisms (Symbolism OR Feminism) that discusses the lens you see through most predominantly when reading this story.  Read through this article using the same strategies used to read through the Kosenko article.
5. What can you conclude about the story "The Lottery"?