Theme
What is the theme of a story?
The moral or message the author of the story is trying to convey.
Definition: the state of being gathered together. Ex: “The children ___________ first, of course. School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play…”
Assembled
behaving in a manner that matches societal standards or expectations
Conformity
True or False? Theme can be one word, like "love" or "friendship."
False. Theme needs to be a sentence.
Vocab -- Definition: to run out; to end; to expire. Ex: Others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to ____________.
lapse
True or False? Analyzing the setting of a story can help one determine a theme, as in "The Lottery," where looking at the "this could happen anywhere" nature of the small town in "The Lottery" can help one determine its theme.
True
Vocab -- Definition: objects used for a particular purpose or activity. Ex: Around the edges of the room were the usual ______________ of a wizards laboratory.
paraphernalia
Lack of knowledge, learning or information
Ignorance
How many people are in the town and why is that important?
300. It's important because everyone knows everyone. So killing someone that you know makes the ending that much more horrific.
What is one of the themes in "The Lottery?" in regards to tradition?
It is dangerous to blindly follow tradition.
How does one die in The Lottery?
People throw stones at you until you're dead.
Vocab -- Definition: a process or thing whose success or outcome is governed by chance. Ex: ..in some towns there were so many people that the ___________ took two days and had to be started on June 26th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole _______ took less than two hours."
lottery
Definition -- noisy, energetic, and cheerful; rowdy. Ex: They tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into ___________ play…”
Boisterous
What is the big allusion in "The Lottery" concerning stones?
It's from the Bible, where they used to kill "sinners" with stones.
What is a bandwagon mentality and how does it relate to the lottery?
The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon in which people do something primarily because other people are doing it, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override. In "The Lottery," one of the themes is that we must be aware that the bandwagon mentality can be dangerous.
What do the Hutchinsons have to do, and why?
They have to draw among their family because Bill’s slip had the black spot in the first drawing.
Definition: done in a hurry; as a matter of routine; unimportant. Ex: The office of vice-president of the United States had so far in the history of the country been almost purely a ____________ one, and has rarely, if ever, led to political promotion.
perfunctory
Definition: a long established and inherited custom or practice Ex: Our family has a long _________________ of self-sacrifice and charity.
tradition
What is a scapegoat and what is one of the most famous examples of scapegoating in Europe during World War II?
Someone blamed for the faults of others. The example is how Hitler and the Nazis blamed the Jews for their economic woes and ended up exterminating six million of them.