1. What would you call this story (title) Why?
I would probably name this story "The Lottery" since the lottery is the main theme of the whole story. It was the center of attention and was really mysterious until the end.
2. What did you think was going to happen? What clues in the text led you to think this?
I wasn't complete sure about what was going to happen until I read the ending, but I knew that something unpleasant was going to happen. The lottery, black dot, and the people's nervous reactions supported my guess.
3. How did you feel when the end of the story was not given to you?
I was really anxious to find out what was going to happen to Mrs. Hutchinson now that she had been picked in the lottery. I wanted to know what the tradition of the town was.
4. How did you feel when you were handed the mystery paper? What did you think was in it? Did you follow the instructions? Why or why not?
When I received the mystery paper, first I thought that the ending of the story was most likely to be in it. But later, I started having thoughts that something else other than the ending might be in it too. I "followed" the instructions because the tension of it had somehow left me and I forgot about the paper until later in the evening that day.
5. How did you feel about the black box and the black spot/blank paper? Explain.
When I saw the black box, a sudden tension was created inside me and had me wondering about what was going to happen next. When I pulled out my paper and found out that I didn't get one with a black dot, I was partially relieved because I thought that "bad" things were going to happen only to the people who got the paper with the black dot (which wasn't me). But I was still wondering what was going to happen to the people who got the black dot.
6. How did you feel when you read the end of the story? Explain.
When the ending was given, I felt relieved from the anxiousness created by the whole "do not open until 5:00 p.m." instructions. It felt as though all of my questions have been answered. Also, I felt shocked in a way after reading what happened to Mrs. Hutchinson in the end.
7. Were your predictions correct? How did you feel about that?
My prediction that something bad was going to happen was partially correct, but I felt that the short ending did not give me a full answer to all of my questions.
8. What would have helped you to make a better prediction?
The author could have provided a bit more foreshadowing and I, myself could have thought out of the box to find myself at a reasonable conclusion.
9. Why did the author leave these voids in the story?
I think the author left these voids in the story in order to create tension, which catches the reader's attention. Ultimately the "anxious" reader will continue reading until the end of the story. There would be no tension or a build-up to the climax if the author simply gave away the ending.
10. Explain the power of the void in this experience:
a. No title/author information – It made me ask 'what is the story going to be about?'
b. No ending – It made me wonder about how the story was going to end and what was going to happen to Mrs. Hutchinson.
c. Text clues and foreshadowing throughout – Made me wonder what the ending would be but the clues were not enough to guess the exact ending.
d. Mystery paper – The paper made me curious about what was written in it.
e. Delayed ending – The delayed ending kept on making me asking 'what happens in the end?'
f. Anything else that created tension and conflict for you… The instruction which stated not to open the paper until 5:00 p.m. created a tension and made me ask questions to myself.
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