Response to The Lottery

Questions for the Short Story:

1) What would you call this story? (Title) Why?

I would call this story the lottery because it is the main issue in this booklet.

2) What did you think was going to happen? What clues in the text led you to think this?

I had a feeling the person who got the black dot would be killed. I thought this because of the lack of excitement of the villagers in the story.

3) How did you feel when the end of the story was given to you?

I didn't know the booklet didn't have the ending, so I had no feelings about the ending.

4) How did you feel when you were handed the mystery paper? What did you think was in it? did you follow the instructions? Why/ why not?

I felt curious when I was handed the paper. I thought it would be involved in some game during class to show what the villagers felt like. I waited until I got home to open the paper because the teacher told me to!

5) How did you feel about the black box and the black spot/ blank paper? explain.

The black box gave me no emotions, but the black dot on my paper scared me a bit because of the villagers reaction to it during the story.

6) How did you feel when you read the end of the story? Explain.

The ending made me feel depressed and horrified that this village's tradition involved killing people with a cruel game.

7) Were your predictions correct? How did you feel about that?

My predictions were correct. I had kind of wished that they weren't because the story would've been a lot more happy.

8) What would have helped you to make a better prediction?

My predictions would've improved if I had known we were making them, instead of being given doubt until we reached home.

9) Why did the author leave these voids in the story?

I think the author left unexplained parts in the story to add suspense.

10) Explain the power of the void in this experience:

a. No title/ author information

Made the story seem like it was written by the villagers.

b. No ending

Added mystery to the outcome of the lottery.

c. Text clues and foreshadowing throughout the story

Made you image the story more than it was told.

d. Mystery paper

It made me think about what the villagers had felt like.

e. Delayed ending

I didn't know about the delayed ending.

f. Anything else that created tension and conflict for you...

N/A