[ENGLISH WRITING(2)] - FINAL DRAFT Research Paper DUE 6/20

00000 Oh

Professor 00000

English Writing 2

17 June 2023

Tessie's Death and Its Reason

 

Story: The Lottery

Research Question: Why did Tessie Hutchinson have to die?

Chen Fuyu. “A Representative and a Scapegoat: Analysis of Tessie Hutchinson in ‘The Lottery’”

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 1022-1026, May 2012.

Zaid, Ibrahim Ismael & Ali, Sabah Atallah Khalifa. “Human Rights at stake Shirley Jackson's Social political protest in the lottery.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, www.ijalel.aiac.org.au. September 2018

 

This research paper is about the short story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson. The question I researched is “Why did Tessie Hutchinson have to die?” To conduct research, I read two articles; One is “A Representative and a Scapegoat: Analysis of Tessie Hutchinson in The Lottery” by Chen, the other is “Human Rights at Stake: Shirley Jackson’s Social and Political Protest in ‘The Lottery’” by Zaid and Ali.

 

          In his paper “A Representative and a Scapegoat: Analysis of Tessie Hutchinson in ‘The Lottery’”, Chen asserts that Tessie is set up to die by Jackson, the author, as a scapegoat and as a representative of the villagers. (2) In his article, Chen argues that Tessie represents the townspeople, the village women, the person chosen in the lottery, the person not chosen in the lottery, and the loss of humanity. (2) Additionally, Chen cited to Frazer's "The Golden Bough" and elaborates on four characteristics that illustrate Tessie's role as a scapegoat. (4)

Chen did not mention the practical effect of Tessie becoming the scapegoat for the village. He did not discuss the consequences of Tessie being chosen and died as the representative and scapegoat. So, I could only get an answer to my research question from Chen that Tessie has the features of scapegoat, and that Tessie serves as a representative in the story.

 

          In their article “Human Rights at stake Shirley Jackson's Social political protest in the lottery.”, Zaid and Ali discuss that the theme of Jackson's short story "The Lottery" is the violence against innocent civilians during World War II. They argue that Jackson intended to highlight the cruelty and violence inherent in human nature through the story. According to Zaid and Ali, Tessie represents the innocent civilians who died during WWII. They also claim that the villagers symbolize Americans, and their silence represents complicity in the violence, for which they should be condemned. (2)

In summary, Zaid & Ali, in their paper, define the theme of "The Lottery" as the hidden violent nature of humans within civilization, citing various scenes from the story as evidence. They argue that Tessie represents the innocent people who fall victim to this violence. Additionally, Zaid & Ali state that Tessie symbolizes women who are discriminated against and ignored in a patriarchal society. (3)

 

          Zaid and Ali, as Iraqis, discuss "The Lottery" from a negative and critical perspective towards the United States. Zaid and Ali overlooked the fact that Americans fought and died against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Also, they mention the American Declaration of Independence in their paper, but I could not find a direct connection between the Declaration and "The Lottery." Zaid and Ali claim that the village in the story depicts a typical American village, but I am not certain that it definitively represents a typical American village. While Zaid and Ali talk about the evil and violent aspects of human nature, they do not apply these traits to Tessie. They interpret Tessie's attempt to include Don and Eva in the lottery as a form of resistance against an irrational society. However, I believe that this scene does reflect Tessie's evil and violent aspects of human nature that Zaid and Ali mention.

 

          “All right, folks,” Mr. Summers said. “Let’s finish quickly.” Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box. Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. “Come on,” she said. “Hurry up.”

Mrs. Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said, gasping for breath. “I can’t run at all. You’ll have to go ahead, and I’ll catch up with you.”

 

          The children had stones already, and someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles.” (Jackson, 7)

When Tessie was chosen in the lottery, Mr. Summers, the organizer, said, "let's finish quickly," (Jackson, 7) using the adverb quickly meaning they should hurry up with killing Tessie. Why did the villagers need to kill Tessie quickly? Was it so they could have their noon dinner sooner?

 

          “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” (Jackson, 7) This sentence has three verbs. The subject is "villagers," and the verbs are "forgotten," "lost," and "remembered." The verb “forgotten” and “lost” has a same meaning which have a direct opposite meaning from remember. The two formal verbs highlight and emphasize the last verb “remember” by stark contrast. From this sentence, we can infer that there was a ritual in the past, which involved an original black box and stones. The black box was likely used to conceal the lottery tickets inside. The fact that the villagers did not forget how to use stones suggests that stones play the most important role in this ritual.

 

          “The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box.” (Jackson, 7) This sentence consists of two related clauses connected by a semicolon. The subject of the first clause is "the pile of stones," and the verb is "was” and the object is “ready”. We can infer that the pile of stones is ready for lottery ritual. The subject of the second clause is "stones," and the verb is "were." The subjects of both clauses are related, hence the use of the semicolon and the connection between two sentences makes sense. However, the subject "the pile of stones" in the first sentence and the subject "stones" in the second sentence refer to different sets of stones. In the second sentence, a prepositional phrase follows. This prepositional phrase provides more details about the position of the main clause's subject, "stones." The stones are placed “on the ground” along with scraps of paper.

 

          “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on," she said. "Hurry up."” (Jackson, 7) In this sentence, the subject is Mrs. Delacroix, and the verb is "selected." The Cambridge dictionary defines "select" as "to choose by making careful decisions." This indicates that Mrs. Delacroix intentionally chose the largest and heaviest stone she could lift. After choosing the largest stone she could carry, Mrs. Delacroix urged Mrs. Dunbar to "Come on" and "Hurry up," encouraging active participation in the ritual. Why did Mrs. Delacroix pick the large stone to kill Tessie quickly? “Mrs. Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said, gasping for breath, "I can't run at all. You'll have to go ahead, and I'll catch up with you."” (Jackson, 7) This sentence depicts Mrs. Dunbar holding small stones in both hands, unlike Mrs. Delacroix who is quickly approaching Tessie with a large stone. Mrs. Dunbar, on the other hand, arrives at Tessie more slowly. “The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles.” (Jackson, 7) We can infer from this sentence that the rule of the lottery ritual requires all villagers to participate in throwing stones. It reveals that even the village children, including Tessie's young son, Little Davy, are not exempt. In fact, Mrs. Delacroix, Mrs. Dunbar, and Tessie are friends. This is evident when Tessie arrived late to the lottery ritual, and Mrs. Delacroix was the first to talk to her. But the rule of the lottery ritual dictates that everyone in the village must throw stones at the Tessie whether she is alive or already dead. Tessie had no chance of surviving being hit by about 300 stones. Mr. Summers' statement "let's finish quickly" suggests an intention to end Tessie's suffering quickly. Mrs. Delacroix, being Tessie's friend, might have chosen the largest stone to give Tessie a quicker, less painful death. Meanwhile, Mrs. Dunbar, lacking the strength to throw a large stone, might have intentionally approached to Tessie lately to throw her small stones after Tessie had already died. To follow the lottery's rules, little Davy Hutchinson was given pebbles to throw at his mother. Throwing pebbles which is so small so that they can barely scratch her mother is the best act that little Davy can do to his dying mother.

 

          Zaid and Ali argued that Tessie represents the innocent civilians who died during World War II, and the villagers demonstrate humanity's inherent violence and wickedness. (2) While Zaid and Ali's interpretation is well-founded, my close reading of the scene where Tessie is killed reveals some minimal humane acts of consideration from the villagers towards Tessie. For instance, Mrs. Delacroix choosing the largest stone she could carry and Mrs. Dunbar throwing small stones after Tessie is already dead can be interpreted as attempts to minimize Tessie's suffering. Additionally, Debby only throws pebbles, which lack any lethal impact, at her mother, suggesting a degree of humane aspect.

 

          Chen's paper focuses on the premise that Tessie is a scapegoat and a representative of the villagers. In response to my research question, Chen asserted that Tessie was chosen as a scapegoat and killed through the lottery. Chen cites Frazer's "The Golden Bough" to argue that Tessie serves as a scapegoat. First, Frazer states that the scapegoat visibly represents the abstract evils of the community. Chen asserts that Tessie is a concrete scapegoat symbolizing these abstract, intangible evils. Although Tessie does not show any evil deeds in the story, she is perceived as evil by the townspeople due to winning in the lottery and is consequently put to death. Second, Frazer notes that sacrificial rituals usually occur annually with the changing seasons. Chen supports this by pointing out Old Man Warner's remark, “Seventy-seventh year I’ve been in the lottery... Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,” (Jackson, 4) suggesting that the lottery is an annual sacrificial ritual conducted in the summer. Third, Frazer observes that during sacrificial rituals, usual constraints and punishments within the group are suspended. Chen highlights that during the lottery, all villagers stop their work and school to gather in the square. Fourth, Frazer argues that the scapegoat must be sacred. Chen contends that Dunbar is not qualified to be a scapegoat due to his injury and Tessie's health qualify her as the suitable scapegoat candidate. (4) In summary, Chen states that Tessie meets her death as a representative set by author Jackson. In his article, Chen argues that Tessie represents the townspeople, the village women, the person chosen in the lottery, the person not chosen in the lottery, and the loss of humanity. Additionally, Chen refers to Frazer's "The Golden Bough" and elaborates on four characteristics that illustrate Tessie's role as a scapegoat. Although Chen substantiated that Tessie is a scapegoat based on the four characteristics of a scapegoat, there was no mention of other characters' dialogues or actions in the scene where Tessie is killed. I believe that the villagers significantly influenced the reason for Tessie's death, but Chen did not provide sufficient explanation on this aspect.

 

          This is my answer to my research question based on my close reading. According to the lottery ritual rule, Tessie had to be hit by stones thrown by all the villagers, which led to her death. Tessie was chosen in the lottery because she represented the person selected among the villagers, embodying the four characteristics of a scapegoat as outlined by Chan. As the lottery winner, Tessie had to be struck by stones thrown by all the villagers, including her young son, Little Davy. Consequently, it was unlikely for her to survive this rule. Although Tessie's death could be interpreted because of the villagers' inherent evil nature, my close reading reveals that Mrs. Delacroix, Mrs. Dunbar, and Mr. Summers exhibited minimal human compassion to alleviate Tessie's suffering. In conclusion, Tessie embodied the four characteristics of a scapegoat as asserted by Chan, and she was killed to uphold the village's traditional ritual. The villagers ensured that Tessie experienced minimal suffering in her death.

 

Work Cited

• Chen, Fuyu. “A Representative and a Scapegoat: Analysis of Tessie Hutchinson in the Lottery.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 2, no. 5, May 2012, https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.2.5.1022-1026.
• Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery and Other Stories. 1948, ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA52395743.
• Zaid, Ibrahim Ismael & Ali, Sabah Atallah Khalifa. “Human Rights at stake Shirley Jackson's Social political protest in the lottery.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, www.ijalel.aiac.org.au. September 2018