Shirley Jackson

W.W. Jacobs

“ The Lottery”

“ The Monkey’s Paw”

Jackson’s LifeObsessed with writing as a childLeft school for mental illness but returned Involved with the campus literary magazineStanley Edgar Hyman, husband and literary

criticFour childrenDied at 48

Jackson’s writings The Road Through the Wall (1948). American horror novelist and short story writer Wrote children stories Hosted many leading literary figures of 20th century Wrote regularly for The Reader's Digest The Haunting of Hill House Over 100 novels, novellas, short stories, plays,

children’s books and television scripts Shirley Jackson Award

“ The Lottery” Published in the June 26, 1948 Village children run around collecting stones Mr. Summers runs the lottery Make a list of families and households in the village 1st round all families draw 2nd every person from family draws Person chosen is stoned to death

Setting• Takes place between 10 a.m. and noon on June 27, a

sunny day, in a New England village• “ The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with

the fresh warmth of a full summer day”

Main Characters• The lottery is what the town revolves around• Tessie Hutchinson, winner, gets stoned• Mr. Summers, runs the lottery

Themes

Danger of Blindly Following Tradition• Bizarre ritual that suggests how dangerous tradition

can be• Villagers don’t know much about lottery’s origin but

preserve tradition• Acceptance of the lottery has allowed ritual murder

to become part of their town

W.W. Jacobs life1879- clerk in Post Office Savings Bank

Grew up and lived in London

Home environment was setting for many of his stories

submitted anonymous sketches to be published in Blackfriars

• 1899 resigned from the civil service to devote his full time to writing

Jacobs writings1885 first short story published

short story output declined around the First World War

The Strand magazine

early stories were tentative and naïve

first collection of short stories was titled Many Cargoes of which Punch magazine

“ The Monkey’s Paw” horror, short story based on the famous "setup" in which three wishes

are granted Paw of dead monkey grants possessor three wishes wishes come with enormous price for interfering with

fate movies, plays and comics are variations of the story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXPdKG8jZpM

Setting• Part I - a dark and stormy night as the three members

of the White family relax inside their cozy house• Part II- begins on the next morning, a sunny winter day• In Part III- the Whites bury Herbert

Main Characters• Herbert White - The son of Mr. and Mrs. White• Mrs. White- forces Mr. White to wish Herbert back to

life• Mr. White- makes all three wishes• Sergeant-Major Morris- shows Mr. White paw, tells him

not to use it but shows him how

Themes

The Danger of Wishing• The Whites’ downfall comes as the result of wishing

for more than they needed• Intense desire also leads to unfulfilled expectations or

unintended consequences

Clash between Domesticity and the Outside World• White’s home safe from outside world• Whites’ house is full of symbols of happy domesticity• Whites invite trouble into this cozy world• Sergeant-Major Morris- monkey paw, tells evil stories• Maw and Meggins- shatter happiness with news of

Herbert’s death

Similarities Differences

Both involve community No control of things People die

Lottery vs. wishes Town vs. family Lottery town function,

people have no choice Paw family had choice

to make wishes but fell into temptation

Work Cited

Shirley Jackson’s American Gothic by Darryl Hattenhauer (2003)State University of New York Press

Shirley Jackson; Essays on the Literary Legacy Bernice M. Murphy, Ed. (2005)McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers

Hyman, Stanley Edgar. "Introduction", Just an Ordinary Day. Bantam, 1995Characters of Jackson’s The Lottery and Frost's Once By The Pacific."

123HelpMe.com. 19 May 2011<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=20370>.

http://www.literalmedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=75

http://www.online-literature.com/ww-jacobs/