1 ↑ Englisch
1.1 ↑ Schulheft
1.1.1 ↑ Thennessee Williams (* 1911, † 1983)
Mother: religious
Father: materialistic
- 1945
The Glass Menagerie
- 1946
One-Act Plays
- 1947
A Streetcar Named Desire
- 1955
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
1.1.2 ↑ Ernest Hemingway: Cat in the Rain
1.1.2.1 ↑ Atmosphere
sad, cold, unfriendly
emptiness, isolation, stagnation, longing ("looking out")
contrast: description of environment in good weather
stylistic device: repetition ("war momument" ⇒ foreshadowing, "rain", "looking out") ⇒ emphasis
1.1.2.2 ↑ Characterization
- a) the American wife, the American
looking out ⇒ =
wants to get the kitty ⇒ =
ative
likes the way she's treated by the hotel-keeper (respect)
acts childishly (fetching a stray cat)
narcastic behaviour (mirror) "I want, I want, I want"
wants to be a lady and be treated like one
wants material, tactile pleasures
wants something to take care of, to be responsible for
wants it to be spring ⇒ =
- b) the husband
doesn't say much, monosyllabic ⇒
treats her like a child ("Don't get wet.")
lying in bed throughout the whole story
reading ⇒ interests
"Wonder where it went to?" ⇒ =
satisfied with his life, the way it is
"Oh, shut up and get something to read" ⇒ no common basis
1.1.2.3 ↑ Theme
Symbols:
"kitty", cat ⇒
bad weather ⇒
war monument ⇒
it's getting darker ⇒
light comes on in the square ⇒
padrone asked the maid to bring her the cat ⇒
⇒ relationship that has problems because the partners are not on common grounds. While he's a grown-up with intellectual interests, his wife, whose behaviour is rather childish, feels the need for material pleasures.
1.1.3 ↑ Shirley Jackson: The Lottery
no information about name of the village, time
no info about the nature of the event itself (what is there to "win"?)
the reader is thrown into the heart of the matter
the story begins in the middle of the action
we feel that something important, unique, mysterious is going to happen
ordinary, normal day (get home in time for noon dinner (l. 6), women wear faded house dressed (l. 17), the men were talking about planting, rain, tractors and taxes (l. 15))
cheerful, sunny, warm (l. 1-2)
uneasiness (l. 8)
mysterious, somewhat like the "calm before the storm" (jokes were quiet, girls were looking over their shoulders (l. 13), women called their children, they came reluctantly, Bobby M. ducked, girls clung to the hands of their older...)
effect on the reader: suspense; misleading effect, sends him on the wrong track, curiosity
doesn't take long
conducted every year
something normal like square dances, teen club, Halloween program (l. 23)
represents tradition
prosperity/well-being of the village depends on it! ("Lottery in June, corn can be heavy soon." (l. 128))
some parts of the procedure have been changed (chips of wood replaced by slips of paper) ⇒ ???
[slips of paper: man-made! arbitrary, not substantial, what's the significanse attached to a slip of paper?]
black box represents tradition ⇒ essential symbol
grows shabbier each year ⇒ ...
they act as if it were untouchable but in fact...
until the very end, it is not mentioned what there is to "win"
delays the resolution especially (l. 146f.)
described reactions of village people ("a sudden hush...")
changes narrative perspective, lets characters talk
⇒ wee see the action through their eyes, feel with them, take part in the action
[see 4.]
peace and quiet ↔ nervousness and anxiety
tradition ↔ change
relief/fun and laughter ↔ tragedy, death
- a) telling
l. 24: "Mr. Summers was a round-faced, jovial man and people were sorry for him..."
l. 35: "No are liked to upset tradition."
He describes their attitudes from an unlimited point of view.
- b) showing
l. 17: "They smiled rather than laughed"
l. 100: "Most of them were quiet, wetting their lips"
- c) dialogue
l. 126: "Pack of crazy fools"
l. 128: "Lottery in June..."
foreshadowing: by saying "Wouldn't..." Mrs. Hutchinson alludes to the possibility of being the one who "hits the jackpot" this year. That's why she doesn't want to leave her house in and untidy state. The fact that she actually draws the lot with black spot on it makes her comment highly ironic.
the effect of cruelty:
children are involved: l. 180: "Little Dave has to take a slip of paper, he laughs ... wonderingly, doesn't even understand what's going on"
l. 196: "Nancy and Bill beamed and laughed... knowing that a member of their family was going to be killed"
children made piles of stones
littly Davy Hetchinson gets pebbles to throw at his mother
1.1.4 ↑ Civil Rights Movement
MLK:
brotherhood
peace and harmony
integration
non-violence
Christianity
Malcolm X:
black community
separation
political and economic independence
violence if need be
revolution