SciFi Friday: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
While not traditionally a science fiction story, I introduce students to the art of shorter fiction through this masterpiece. Many of us over 30 years old probably have memories of being assigned this story in high school and college. I remember when I first read this story as a freshman in college; my whole outlook of what literature can do was completely upended! I don’t want to spoil the story, so I will not share details.
This story made its first appearance in The New Yorker in 1948, and it received the most complaints from readers the magazine had ever seen. Hundreds even cancelled their subscriptions over it! Jackson rarely ever discussed the inspiration of her most famous story, but she did say in one interview that the setting is contemporary and the story itself fits squarely in a realistic what-if scenario.
I like to introduce shorter fiction with this story because it leads to a great discussion on the art of short stories. What is this story doing, sustaining that novels cannot? Would an ending like this one even work in long form? Students often have much to say about this!
Link to a short film made in 1969 — there are rumors that the film will be made into a feature film for the first time soon.
Possible Ways to Use “The Lottery” in the classroom:
- Opening — My warm up for this story, before introducing it or the author Shirley Jackson, is to have students brainstorm a list of things they would do if they won the lottery. I don’t give any more specifics than that — no clarifying how much or what they win, etc. Then we share ideas. Students invariably have so many positive ideas related to buying things, helping others, and traveling. This tricks them into a direct association with winning the lottery as inherently positive.
- Literary Analysis — After discussing the twist at the end (which students will have so much to say!), it is fun to dig into context clues related to the following topics: foreshadowing — have students go back to the beginning and skim the story for direct clues that the story would end the way it did. From the first paragraph, Jackson has masterfully woven in details that tie to the ending. Students will have fun being literary detectives discovering them! Also, it’s great to discuss how twist endings are most satisfying when the clues were there all along and not appearing out of nowhere. Setting — where and when is this story taking place? What clues give you this sense? How does knowing the story was written in 1948 affect a reader’s sense of setting? Author’s Purpose — Why did Jackson write this story? What is she trying to say to readers about society? How does this relate to what was happening in the U.S. in 1948? How are these themes and ideas still relevant today? What lessons can we still learn from this story?
- Probability — A fun activity is to go back and use the context clues to estimate the probability of a citizen “winning” this lottery. Have students calculate an answer or a range and support the math with direct evidence from the story. Also have them reflect on how they would feel living in a town like this with these odds of winning. What parts of this lottery are chance and what parts are choice? Does every citizen have the same odds of “winning” the lottery? How does the order of drawing affect the outcome for an individual?
- Connections to other science fiction — The plot and themes of this story have directly and indirectly influenced many artists. Having students come up with a list of connections they see between “The Lottery” and other books, stories, films, and television shows is a fun discussion. Students will find these pretty readily. One great talking point is how directly the premise of The Hunger Games directly references the plot of this story.
- Issues the story confronts: Students in middle school want the world to be better, and they want to actively participate in the process. “The Lottery” is a great jumping off point to discuss issues relevant to their lives. What is the role of conformity in our society? Why do we blindly follow some traditions? How do we break these cycles? When should we speak up and/or resist? These questions could be investigated in terms of some of the biggest issues facing society today: climate change, science denial, income inequality, 2-party political system.
Please reach out if you have questions or other ideas for using this story in science class! Also, if you know of stories you think would fit well in this program, please send them my way! You can reach me at jason.carter@evergreenccs.org or tweet at me: @evergreenjasonc
