Tuesday, August 13, 2013

What are the climax, falling action and resolution of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson?

The climax of "The Lottery" comes when the sacrifice to a
worn and faded tradition is selected in the lottery; Tessie is the one
selected:


readability="18">

"Tessie," Mr. Summers said. There was a pause,
and then Mr. Summers looked at Bill Hutchinson, and Bill unfolded his paper and showed
it. It was blank.

"It's Tessie," Mr. Summers said, and his voice was
hushed. "Show us her paper. Bill."

Bill Hutchinson went over to his
wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, .... Bill
Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the
crowd.



The falling action,
which shows the consequences of the climax (and in a short story may be very brief)
begins with Summer's instruction: ""All right, folks." Mr. Summers said. "Let's finish
quickly."" It continues until people are all in possession of
stones:



The
children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few
pebbles.



It might be deemed
that the next paragraph muddies the water, so to speak, between falling action and
resolution. Jackson might have gone directly to the resolution at "Mrs. Hutchinson
screamed, and then they were upon her," but chose instead to precede this with a
paragraph in which the actions of characters clarify her authorial perspective. She thus
draws out the moral of the story through dramatic reactions, satirical comment, and
ironic juxtaposition though the following
points:


  1. Tessie calls out, "It isn't
    fair.'

  2. The final resolution is hinted at when a
    prematurely thrown stone hits her head.

  3. Old man Warner,
    the antagonistic voice of blind adherence to form without reason, presents what is a
    heinous position: "Come on, come on, everyone."

  4. Steve
    Adams, the earlier spokesperson for ending the lottery ("over in the north village
    they're talking of giving up the lottery"), positioned himself in the fore-guard of the
    advancing villagers: "Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers,
    ...."

After thus clarifying her authorial
opinion about blind superstition and belief, Jackson comes to the resolution in which
the villagers descend upon her with the stones, all following the path of the first
stone in the preceding paragraph: '"It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson
screamed, and then they were upon her."

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the meaning of the 4th stanza of Eliot's Preludes, especially the lines "I am moved by fancies...Infinitely suffering thing".

A century old this year, T.S. Eliot's Preludes raises the curtain on his great modernist masterpieces, The Love...