Engelbert E.

Gani
A Paper
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is trying to show the reader that following an old tradition
blindly could be dangerous. It is shown by a story about an old tradition that is being performed every
year in a small village. Everyone in the village takes part in this tradition that is known as the lottery. It
doesnt matter if someone is a child or an adult; they all have to take a slip of paper. If the slip of paper
they took is marked, they will be stoned. This seems very barbaric, but it is explained that this is done so
that the harvest of the whole village would be good.
The possibility of Evil, even though written by the same author, is trying to convey that looks
can be deceiving and its shown by Ms. Strangeworth. Ms. Strangeworth takes great pride in her rose
garden and her town. She feels that she needs to get rid of the evil by addressing them; she does this by
sending everyone anonymous letters telling other people their flaws. One evening while she was on her
daily routine of secretively sending her letters, she dropped one on the ground. A boy picked it up and
gave it to the intended recipient of this vile letter. The next morning comes and Ms. Strangleworth is
woken up to her beloved rose bushes being cut down and a note left saying, Look out at what used to
be your roses.
There are two similar characters between the story which is Ms. Strangeworth and old man
Warner. They both act as an elderly figure to the community and thus they gain the respect of the
community. Both like to criticize the other young citizens. Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery
old man Warner use this excuse to justify the lottery to the other citizens. They justify what they do
using their age and experience as excuse. They both do something that affect the other citizen in a
negative way. Ms. Strangeworth likes to send people letter, . . . her letters all dealt with more
negotiable stuff of suspicion.
The stories have two different type of conflict. The Lottery has an internal conflict, while The
Possibility of Evil has an external conflict. In The Lottery the citizens want to uphold their tradition
without caring about the consequences. This is shown by old man Warners remark, pack of crazy
fools. . .listening to the young fools, nothings good enough for them. He wants to keep a tradition
going where innocent people are killed because of an old tradition. The Possibility of Evil has an
external conflict that is based on Ms. Strangeworth. Her different facades fooled the citizens to thinking
she is a very nice old lady, even though she isnt. After sending her letters she was thinking to herself,
. . . even in a charming little town like this one, there was still so much evil in people. She cant see her
own evil, even though she is trying to get rid of other peoples.
The Lottery is in third person complete omniscience, while The Possibility of Evil is in
dramatic narration . In The Lottery the thoughts of the citizens is known by the reader, . . . people
began to look around to see the Hutchinsons. The readers can tell that something ominous is about to
happen. The Possibility of Evil gives us a view of how the community treats Ms. Strangeworth . . .
When she came into the grocery, half a dozen people turned away from the shelves and counters to
wave at her or call out good morning. The reader knows for certain that the citizens all adore Ms.
Strangeworth and that they did not know of her letters.
The setting is both a general setting; its used so that the writer can show that the theme theyre
trying to convey can happen in our daily life. The Lottery uses a small village as its setting, it could
justify to the reader why such a barbaric tradition can still be performed. The setting is mentioned on
the first paragraph . . .in this village, where there were only about three hundred people.It lets the
readers know that it is a very small village and a small community. The setting in The Possibility of Evil
is a small town with its own small community . . . she knew everyone in town, of course. This also lets
the readers know that it also has a similar setting as The Lottery. The small village and closed
community setting could represent peoples culture and their city.
The stories both contain symbolism that is used to support the central idea of each story. In
The Possibility of Evil Ms. Strangeworth is very proud of her rose garden Miss Strangeworth never
gave away any of her roses, although the tourists often asked her. Her beloved rose garden could
represent Miss Strangeworth true self. In front of everyone she is very nice just like the smell of the rose,
while the thorns could represent her wickedness. The lottery box in The Lottery contain pieces of the
first original box that was used for the lottery, . . . there was a story that the present box had been
made with some pieces of the box. The lottery box symbolizes the passing down of the tradition from
one generation to the next.
The ironic tone of both the stories is presented through the characters of Miss Strangeworth
and also Old Man Warner. Miss Strangeworth wants to rid the evil that is in the town, . . .town where
she lived had to be kept clean and sweet, but people everywhere were lustful and evil and degraded,
and needed to be watched. It is ironic that Ms. Strangeworth wants to rid the town of evil, while she
herself has evil in her. Old Man Warner said that if the lottery tradition is not continued it would result
to people being uncivilized . . . listening to the young folks, nothings good enough for them. Next thing
you know theyll be wanting to go back to living in caves. Old man Warner is so fixed on this old
tradition that he doesnt realize that killing people is also uncivilized, and he thinks that if they dont do
it theyll become uncivilized.
The Lottery and The Possibility of Evil teach us everyday lessons that we should never
criticize people without looking at ourselves, and also we shouldnt follow traditions without knowing its
purpose. The use of symbolism in the story gives the story a more in-depth underlying meaning to it.
What at first seems just like a plain story, when analyzed the story can be truly appreciated due to its
various imagery and the theme its trying to convey.