Answers: I
3. How is the setting in the stories listed below essential to our understanding of the events in these works?
The setting of the story, The Lottery, stirs the readers to the very core as it helps in setting up the ambiance that leads to the climactic sequence in the course of the narrative. The description of the beautiful day and the open space in stark juxtaposition to the final barbaric act in the course of the story makes one understand the dichotomy between the societal norms and logical outlook. Right up to the very end, one is unable to gauge what the lottery is for. Nonetheless, the crowd having gathered in the open space and every family having taken part, it becomes clear that the lottery represents the traditional practice of the milieu and community. The open space and the beautiful day signify hope, while the lottery would only bring the ultimate doom for the unlucky person. There is mention about the same thing being carried out in the other villages as well. The setting also stands for the tradition and systematic approach as around three hundred people had come for the lottery.
4. Select one of the following stories and explain the major symbol used in the work and its relevance to the work.
In the story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the lottery as a tradition in the community itself works as the symbolic representation of the omnipotence of fate and the lack of control of the individual over his or her own life. The entire act of carrying out the lottery on a specific day as a tradition signifies the inevitability of fate’s power over the person and its subsequent acceptance among people. While lottery has an innate marker of some positive result, here one finds that the one unlucky person picking up the ill-fated paper would be stoned to death. Thus, lottery also stands for the unknown future, and the hope that makes people go forward in life. The author makes sure that this symbol comes across to be very much conspicuous in the course of the story, and it does leave the readers stirred to the very core indeed.
Answers: II
2. Mrs. Hale: I wish you’d seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up in the choir and sang. [A look around the room.] Oh, I wish I’d come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who’s going to punish that? What does the speaker call “a crime”? How does this passage from Susan Glaspell, “Trifles” contribute to the play’s theme?
In the seminal feminist play, Trifles, penned by Susan Glaspell, one finds the reference to the innate patriarchic oppression that encompasses the lives of females. Here, the speaker talks about how the life of the contextual character had changed with time after her marriage. Mrs. Hale feels guilty about not being there for her when she was going through the subjugation and oppression in the marital relationship, and now she is bothered by her own female conscience. This passage is very much significant as it provides an insight into the female perspective and psyche when it comes to the question of male domination and claustrophobia in marriages.
4. The narrator in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” writes: “[T]here would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.” Why will she no longer be subject to this “blind persistence”? What does this passage reveal about the persona’s views on marriage?
The literary work, The Story of an Hour, written by Kate Chopin, goes on to point to the innate nature of marriages to be oppressive as the female counterpart in the bond faces subjugation and impositions. Here, when Mrs. Mallard gets to know of her husband’s untimely demise, she knows that she would no more be subjected to the patriarchal domination in the relationship, and she would be live life on her own terms going after her dreams and aspirations. Thus, she would be free of the “blind persistence.” The passage reveals how marriage works as an onus on the individuality and identity of females in the society.
5. “Yes, I’m bitter. I’m bitter I’ve lost him. I’m bitter what’s happening. I’m bitter even now, after all this, I can’t reach you. I’m beginning to feel your disapproval and it’s making me ill.” How does Cal’s speech in McNally’s “Andre’s Mother” reveal the play’s theme?
McNally’s “Andre’s Mother” is a play that essentially deals with the thematic content of societal acceptance of homosexuality. The passage in context shows how Andre’s mother is still unable to see that homosexuality is normal. She is judgmental of her deceased son and Cal, his lover. Here, Cal blurts out about his frustration on being not comprehended by his lost lover’s mother. The passage works to show how the society views homosexuality to be a taboo thing. The speech adds to the vehemence of the play’s message and stirs the minds of the avid audience to the very core.
