The Lottery and the Rocking-Horse Winner

Comparison and Contrast of

“The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner”

ENGL 102: Literature and Composition

Fall B 2017

Nicole Uzzle    ID# L29089600

WRITING STYLE USED: APA

Outline

1. Introduction

1. The hook
2. Thesis statement

1. Body Paragraph #1 “The Lottery”

1. Symbolism: Black wooden Box
2. Symbolism: Stone

1. Body Paragraph #2: “The Rocking-Horse Winner”

1. Symbolism: Luck
2. Symbolism: evil of money

1. Conclusion

Thesis: In “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner provide two different symbolism in the short story that underlines malicious in the story; both author sets the reader to think of negative outcomes.

Comparison and Contrast of

“The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner”

                When you think of luck, is it a good or bad thing to have? Do you believe you just get lucky or just born with luck? In both short stories, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking Horse Winner”” by D.H. Lawrence share the same similarity of unluckiness. Not all luck is good luck. In “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner provide two different symbolism in the short story that underlines bad luck in the story; both author sets the reader to think of negative outcomes.

In the short story “The Lottery”, Jackson written the story in June of 1948. “The Lottery” take place on a sunny, clear, summer June day in a small village. A village where they have annual traditional rituals as “lottery”. Shirley Jackson introduced the readers with a black wooden box. The black wooden box is a box that been passed down from generation to generation. The Black wooden box is used to symbolize of death. The box that contain of wood chips, for the lottery, each villager has to draw that determine between life or death for each villager.

 The black box suggest death through the story. For example, When Summers arrived with the black wooden box, villagers would murmur of conversation among others. The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool (Jackson, 1948). “and when Mr. Summers said, “Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?” there was a hesitation before two men” (Jackson,1948, para. 4).  What are the odds of being lucky to not pick death from the black wooden box? After a while the black wooden box started to grow shabbier each year. The box became its original wood color. Due to the box discoloration, the lottery traditions have been forgotten or discarded.

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