Critical Summary #3
1.) Civic criticism is when readers use their ethics and morals to understand
what has happened in a city or community of any size large or small or to the
citizens of that city or community. Civic criticism is very similar to ethical
criticism. We judge the characters based on what is right and what is wrong.
Right and wrong is based on the readers‟ beliefs and morals. So with different
individuals the results can vary. With civic criticism you would look at the moral
values of the citizens in the communities. When reading you is looking for the
civic responsibility, which is the responsibility of the people to the community.
Some steps to use when you approach civic criticism are to listen carefully at the
tone and metaphor and also to closely study the important themes for ethical
implications. Another good tip is to pay attention to the characters‟ actions and
words.
Movie Clip
In the movie the “Long Walk Home” the civic issue was the white Americans did
not accept black Americans in their community. To most of the white families the
black women were only good enough to be their maids. The white wives were
supposed to stay home and make sure that everything was in order for when the
husband got home from work. The black Americans were not allowed to ride the
public buses. That was just how things were done back then and not many
people were questioning it. Fortunately one of the housewives in the movie
stood up to her husband and said that it is not right for them to be treating black
Americans different. Her husband was in outrage that she was even speaking
like that to him. She disobeyed her husband and picked up their maid in the
family car and also helped with the car pool for the black women. Her civic
responsibility was to be a good human being to all and to show the white
Americans that the black Americans are not different from them. At the end of
them movie when the white Americans were trying to force the black Americans
to walk she stood up for them. She was very courageous and admirable. The
black women and the housewife and her daughter stood strong singing together
not letting the white men have them be defeated. Another civic responsibility
was when the housewife showed her daughter not to be racist against others and
treat people equal and stick up for what you believe in even if it‟s hard to do.
2.) 1. My early impression of the story was that it had seemed like a very friendly
town to live in. They all knew one another and there families. They had all
seemed to get along and be polite. They had conversations with each other
about how everyone was doing as they prepared for the lottery.
2. My observations on the narrative‟s attitude toward the villagers were that the
narrator showed the villagers as they were just happy and everything was fine. It
was as if the lottery was not going to take place. I think the narrator would have
liked them to act as if they were taking the lottery serious. The narrators‟ attitude
to me did not change. The narrator stayed the same through the whole story just
telling us what was being observed and letting us as readers figure out for
ourselves that something bad was going to happen. You could tell that
something was about to happen by listening to the characters and they were on
edge. The narrator still did not like how the whole community was not bothered
enough to stop the ritual.
3. The example of the villagers being polite to one another was almost deceiving.
It was as if they just wanted to make sure everyone was there to draw a slip so
their chances would be less to get the black mark. It was uncivil to care about
someone then if they received the black mark be able to throw rocks at them until
their death. That is not a friend or neighbor you should want to have.
4. The civic responsibilities of the villagers are to conduct the lottery fairly and
follow through with the lottery. I believe that they should reconsider there civic
responsibilities to one another and stop the lottery. That would be morally
correct thing to do.
5. Some other civic responsibilities are that they kill an innocent person every
year and it does not seem to bother them. Another civic duty for them is to have
everyone including the children throw rocks at whoever received the black dot. A
civic responsibility they should all be thinking about is why they keep doing this
year after year. The lottery should be stopped and could be. Other towns already
have got rid of the lottery. It would be there civic duty to one another rather then
the town itself.
6. I don‟t feel that I would really fit into a town that could kill another human
being just because it was what they have always done. To me there are not any
benefits from doing that. I would speak up like Tessie did and tell them that this
isn‟t right and isn‟t fair. She did need to do this before she herself received the
black dot. I think that if they all sat down and discussed this that they would get
rid of the lottery.
7. The first civic argument that I had seen was when Mrs. Dunbar would not let
her child draw for the family. He was too young. She stood up to Mr. Summers
and said that she will be drawing for their family, because he was too young.
The second civic argument is when some villagers bring up to Mr. Adams that
some villages have done away with the lottery. He disagrees with them and the
villagers do not go into detail on why this would be a good idea. The third civil
argument is when no one rescues Tessie when she is screaming saying it is not
right or fair. The people in the community all just watch her and continue with the
ritual.
8. I feel that the theme of the narrative‟s argument is the simply put is the
villagers just following what they have been told to do and what they have always
known. They don‟t question it or try and stop it.
9. I have learned from this narrative that even though it may have been their
civic responsibility to have the lottery, you need to think about what you are doing
and not just follow everyone else.
10. I am not a person who just follows others. If I think something different I will
tell them. I am not afraid of what others might think. I am not rude, but there is a
time and place to speak up. I do understand that for some kids in school that is
much easier said then done. So many kids do things just because others are
doing it and don‟t think twice about it or the effects it might have.
11. I feel that the narrator foreshadowed the end of the story that something bad
was going to happen when they started the lottery. Everyone was on edge and
then you could tell then the lottery was not something you wanted to win. I did
have a feeling at that point that it was going to be one of the characters already
named that were going to receive the black dot.
3.) “The Lottery” was written by Shirley Jackson. It is a story in which has hidden
meaning. The story was about a village that had a lottery every year on June
27th. It was a clear summer morning. Everything and everyone in the community
stopped and went to the gather in the square. They all knew one another and
were very polite. It was as if everyone got along and enjoyed each other. At the
lottery the men of the house or acting representative pick a paper out of this old
black box. They were all to open there paper at the same time. Whoever had
received the black mark for their family then had to have everyone from their
family draw again. Then whoever received the black mark was the so called
winner. The lottery was what they had all known. This year Tessie Hutchinson
received the black mark. She was screaming to everyone that it‟s not right it‟s
not fair. Then preceding with the ritual the whole community including the kids
would pick up rocks and big stones and throw them at the winner until they were
dead. Some people in the community believed that if the lottery did not take
place that they would not have enough food to feed everyone. Some other towns
have stopped the lottery already. No one in this town really debated what had
happened nor tried to stop it. The characters in the story just followed without
thinking twice about what was happening to their fellow members of their
community. They acted as if they were all friends then killed someone in a very
barbaric way every year just because that is what they had always done.
“Censorship and „The Lottery‟ “by Edna Bogert was about a fictional story that
caused major controversy. Over three hundred letters had been written to the
author and were all not very nice to say the least. Most of the controversy was
that they believed that the fictional story was based on fact. The readers wanted
to know whom, where, and when of story. Bogert explained that some teachers
found “The Lottery” to be in the top forty-eight stories most challenged by local
censorship. They thought that it was not suitable for high school students. They
thought that it was too barbaric for them to read. Bogert explained that “The
Lottery” was written based off the background of Hilter and his followers. Hitler
instructed his followers to kill certain humans and they did. In “The Lottery” they
were instructed to throw rocks at to kill who ever received the black mark. In
both situations no one questioned why this was happening and just did as they
had always known or had been told.
I feel that after reading both “The Lottery” and “Censorship and „The Lottery‟ “I
believe that it should be read by high school students. Readers need to
understand that this story is fiction. There is a lot to learn from this story. It
teaches you to be your own person and not just follow others. Teachers should
have them read the story, explain why it was written, and discuss it. They
should then teach kids to be leaders and not followers. Just because something
has been done for a long time does not mean it‟s the right thing to do. Traditions
are nice to keep going year after year but not at the expense of a human life.
Works Cited
Bogert, Edna. “Cenorship and „The Lottery‟ “. The English Journal, 1985. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery”. New Yorker, 1948. Print.
Pearce, Richard. “Long Walk Home”. New Visions Pictures, 1989. Film.
Sipiora, Phillip. “Reading and Writing about Literature”. Prentice Hall, 2002. Print.
PK1- I just had written cities instead of all communities, cities, or villages
regardless of their size.
PK2-I had not written that right and wrong can be different for every reader.
Right and wrong is based on individuals‟ morals and beliefs.
PK3- I had written the long walk home which should have been “The Long Walk
Home”. I needed to use quotation marks and capitalize the first letter of each
word.
PK4- I had written question instead of were questioning which the present form
is.
PK6- I had written as if the narrator was more of the character then the actual
narrator just telling us what was being observed. The narrator was actually
neutral.
PK8- I had written “The lottery” instead of “The Lottery”. I had mistyped and did
not capitalize the first letter of lottery.