Biography
Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco 1919. She was very popular in her time because of her horror, Gothic appeal throughout her stories. She has written many novels, short stories and her work have been featured in mean anthologies. She moved to Vermont where married her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman she continued her work in novels. One of her greatest known stories is called The Lottery (1948). She later died in 1965 at the age of 48 but her work will always be remembered.
Symbol
I chose this picture because it represents all the letters Ms. Strangeworth has written to the fellow citizens of Pleasantville.
Response
What is Ms. Strangeworth trying to accomplish by sending out her letters? Does she succeed? Discuss.
Miss Strangeworth thinks that she is helping out her little town by giving letters of guided suggestion to people anonymously. She thinks that the letters are completely reasonable but in reality they are rude. She wants everyone act the way she thinks people of her town are supposed to act so when she sees someone who is out of line. She thinks it's her job to tell them, anonymously of course.
How would you describe the story’s atmosphere at the beginning? How does this atmosphere help to emphasize the ending?
It was rather mysterious by the way the author was describing Strangeworth. I could tell that there was going to be something weird about her or that she was going to cause a problem near the end. It was very dark and different near the end so it made me more excited at the end to see what happens.
Why don’t the people ignore the letters they receive? If you received one of Ms. Strange worth’s letters, what would you do? Write you response and share it.
They ignore them because they don't know who's sending them. I'm sure if they knew who it was, they would do something about it. If I received one of her letters, I would definitely want to know who sent it so I could tell her off. I wouldn't let her get away with it.
What are two interpretations you could give to the story’s title? Share your ideas.
One interpretation would be that this story is about the possibility of different evils and where you can find them. Unsuspecting people who are evil. Another possibility could be that someone or something is deciding to become evil for the first time.
What do you think this story is about saying about crime and criminals? Do you agree? Discuss giving examples to support your opinion.
I think it's saying that you can never guess a criminal. Yes if there was a guy walking in a store with a black hoodie and hands in his pockets with his head down, you might be a little suspicious. But a little girl is just as capable as stealing something, so you really should never assume. So, yes I do agree.
Consider both Miss Strangeworth's anxiety about evil and the final crime in the story. Do you think human beings will ever create a society that is crime free? Comment?
No I do not. As long as we have the ability to go and do anything we want there will always be some crime. It just depends on people's self control. People will always break the law; I don't believe that that will ever stop.
Critical Thinking
Maybe because he wanted to show that criminals come in all walks of life.
What does the author want you to think?
That you shouldn’t judge people.
Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?
No.
Does the story remind you of a real-life event (your own or others)?
Yes on Facebook there’s this thing called Honesty Box where people send anonymous posts to you and they could be really mean or nice. But you have no way of finding out that that is. It is very similar to the story.
Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?
Not any I can think of.
How does the story help you think about social issues and social justice?
It shows that some people think they need to be the boss of but that isn’t necessarily always the answer.
What action might you take from what you have learned?
That if you don’t agree with what someone else is doing you don’t always need to step in and fix it. Its better if they figure it out on they’re own.
What big question has this text left you with?
What would people actually do if someone started sending them letters like that.
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