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Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson. W.W. Jacobs. “ The Monkey’s Paw”. “ The Lottery”. Jackson’s Life. O bsessed with writing as a child Left school for mental illness but returned I nvolved with the campus literary magazine Stanley Edgar Hyman, husband and literary critic Four children Died at 48.

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Shirley Jackson

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  1. Shirley Jackson W.W. Jacobs “ The Monkey’s Paw” “ The Lottery”

  2. Jackson’s Life • Obsessed with writing as a child • Left school for mental illness but returned • Involved with the campus literary magazine • Stanley Edgar Hyman, husband and literary critic • Four children • Died at 48

  3. 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

  4. “ 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. W.W. Jacobs life • 1879- 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

  8. Jacobs writings • 1885 first short story published • short story output declined around the First World War • The Strandmagazine • early stories were tentative and naïve • first collection of short stories was titled Many Cargoes of which Punch magazine

  9. “ 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

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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, 1995 Characters 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&It emid=75 http://www.online-literature.com/ww-jacobs/

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