THE LOTTERY INTERPRETATION

After analyzing each element of the story, I finally decide that the theme of the story is a modern idea cannot change the old ideal tradition in a society easily. Jackson delivers her story allegorically and ironically, which provides many symbols. The lottery itself is a kind of religious ritual based on carrying out an act which will please the Gods so that the agricultural year will be fruitful, “…lottery in June, harvest will be heavy soon…” The townspeople in this story represents the puritan people, and the lottery itself symbolizes the ritual in their belief which is has to be done each year. And they don’t stop because they believe that if they stop the ritual, they would have a misery or such kind of curse and they wouldn’t get God’s blessings, mercy and grace. The heavy harvest symbolizes the mercy and God’s blessing. It is illustrated in the paragraph 33:

“Some places have already quit lotteries,” Mrs. Adams said.

“Nothing but trouble in that,” Old Man Warner said stoutly. “Pack of young fools.””

Jackson describes the story in a simple plot and style to make the readers able to understand easily, but actually she does not serve the story as it appears to be. In other words, Jackson simply satirizes the old doctrines of Puritan, in which cannot accept a new idea (understanding) in their community. And whoever tries to build up this new idea, she or he is considered as a sinner and has to be punished. This is described in the whole story, which is characterized by Tessie Hutchinson, who is allusion to Anne Hutchinson, a woman who believes in the rights of the individual to freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom to worship. She was such a woman who insists to betray the ideals or ethics in her community, no matter what the cost is. For her, it must have been hard living under Puritan doctrines in the newly established American colonies, especially if we were a woman, in our history; women weren't even allowed to think for themselves. This part is shown in the whole story that symbolizes Tessie’s trial. At that time, women are not allowed to be the leader or even have the idea of doctrine. Tessie actually is not trying to break the doctrine or even having her own ideas, but she is trying to show the right of human freedom. She just tries to deny the system, which represents the lottery process. This part is illustrated in story when Tessie came late to attend the ritual in the yard.

“Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd. “Clean forgot what day it was,” she said to Mrs. Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly. “Thought my old man was out back stacking wood,” Mrs. Hutchinson went on, “and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running.”

And yet, although Tessie has a strong reason to state that the lottery is unfair, no one tries to protect her. However, she still has the chance to pick up the folded paper in a black box, which the papers inside represent the whole people in the community and the black box symbolizes the Puritan community. Finally she got the lottery, meaning she got the black spotted paper, which describes the way they curse or punish the sinner by stoning her to death together.

““It’s Tessie,” Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. “Show us her paper, Bill.”

Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office.”

The one who gets the lottery, normally we will say someone "wins" a lottery, but that word is never used in the story, because it is not about winning something or gaining something but deeper than that, it refers to the stoning action.

Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. “It isn’t fair,” she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, “Come on, come on, everyone.” Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.

“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.

The story actually illustrates our simple everyday life. As a human being we need someone to be blame of or to be responsible of something. We always try to avoid the truth although the truth is hard to be accepted. We keep on doing things which we know are wrong and we try to find another person to take over our responsibility. No matter how the way or how much the cost is, we will always try to appear in a society innocently, in order to be accepted among them, so we have to act just like they act, otherwise we will be excommunicated by them. Just like Anne, although she did not sentenced to death by the community, but still she has been excommunicated by the Puritan people just because she went against the teachings of the church by holding her own idea and stand on it by her own. Although she provided useful Bible-study classes for women and later for men, she is still a woman, who should act like a woman.

After interpreting the story, finally most of the whole elements of the story are developed. But the most highly developed is the plot and the style, which play the main role to create the irony in the story and to build the sense of suspense to the readers in order to make it as an interesting stuff to be read. And the least developed one is the setting. Although the setting actually has its own role and it also contributes the story to be ironic, but its role contributing the story is very weak. The readers seem to be brought to the same place and the same time plainly. From the beginning until the end of the story, it does not raise or even develop.

THE LOTTERY INTRINSICS VALUES

a. Point of view

Point of view is perspective of the controlling narrative voice. This story is told by an objective point of view. The author is like a movie camera that moves around freely recording events. However, the author offers no comments on the characters or their actions. Readers are not told the thoughts or feelings of the characters. However, this point of view contributes the plot’s and character’s development; it provides the story to be ironic. The readers are brought to follow the narrator’s exposition, let them judging the story by themselves and at last create a surprising ending, in which after reading the whole story the readers will turn back to the first paragraph and realizing that the beginning of the story is full of suspense sense.

b. Characters and Characterization

Character is a creation and representation of fictional persons and entities, the characters in this story symbolize others quality. They are as follow:

* Tessie Hutchinson is a protagonist character who is sentenced to death by the community. Tessie in this story refers to Anne Hutchinson.

* Mr. Joe Summers, the official of the lottery mirrors to John Winthrop, a governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and a leader of an English Puritan to the New World, he was a respected political figure, he was criticized for his obstinacy regarding the formation of a general assembly in 1643. He is the one who judged Anne Hutchinson among community. The name itself represents a new time, a fresh start or a change. He tries to renew the paraphernalia -the device or equipment needed to do the lottery- but his intention is refused by the society. They agree to use the black box instead of the paraphernalia.

* Mr. Graves refers to John Eliot, a Puritan Missionary, who participated in the examination, excommunication and exile of Anne Hutchinson, whose opinions he condemned. Grave itself symbolizes death.

* Mr. Steve Adam in this story refers to a perfect model of mankind in all their generations. (According to John Winthrop’s sermon page 41-42) We can see it from the paragraph 21, when he gets his turn to draw the lottery first, and also from the last paragraph, when he, “… was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves besides him.”

* Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, represents the one who always tries to warn the people not to drop down the ritual or their old tradition. Because he is as a Warner, although he has followed the lottery seventy times, he never gets his turn to be stoned to death.

All characters in the story represent their role in a society at that time and contribute the story to support other elements creating the irony.

a. Plot (a series of events or happenings that organize a text)

Exposition

The second and the third paragraph foreshadow the story on how the story will be ended. The second paragraph describes about the action of the children collecting stones. It shows just like all the children’s ativity is an ordinary thing of ‘collecting stones’,

“… Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones…eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square…”

As a matter of facts this part contributes the story creating the irony and giving certain description about the ending to the story that the people will use the stones to bring Tessie to death. The third paragraph also describes about the gathering villagers, standing together in the square, “Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children…soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call their children…” this part foreshadows the story on the way the ritual will be done. Until then we find that the ritual is has to be done by hitting the stones together against the one who got the lottery. Another foreshadow also appears in the ninth paragraph, “…She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way to the crowd…” shows that Mrs. Tessie is going to die and she still holds her belief strongly.

Rising action, climax, anticlimax and resolution

The rising action is showed by the conflict’s appearance. It is described when the lottery starts and the people are going to draw the lottery one by one in turn – represents by their heads of the family and when the lottery is chosen by Hutchinson’s family. Tessie as Bill’s wife feels that the way her family is being chosen is unfair. She tries to deny it by saying that Mr. Summers did not give Bill time enough to choose,

“I think we ought to start over…I tell you it wasn’t fair. You didn’t give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that.”

But still, the Hutchinson’s family members have to take their turn taking the lottery one by one. Finally the climax happens when the lottery is brought up to Tessie,

“”It’s Tessie…,” Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. “Show us her paper, Bill.” Bill Hutchinson went over his wife and forced the slip paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it…”

The anticlimax of the story occurs when finally Mr. Summers commands to the entire of the townspeople to begin the ritual, “”All right, folks.” Mr. Summers said. “Let’s finish quickly.””

The resolution of the story is served in the last paragraph, when Tessie still feels that the chosen of her is unfair. She keeps denying by stating that this is unfair, ““It isn’t fair, it isn’t fair,” Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.”

The whole plot of the story plays the most important to contribute the story to be ironic.

SSetting (atmosphere, historical period, physical setting, or mood of text)

This story takes place in the morning of June 27^th. Jackson describes the story beautifully as it is stated in the first paragraph,

“…clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green…”

This part seems to be a beautiful day, but supporting by other elements finally we found that there is a horrible religious ritual held in the middle of the beautiful square.

Atmosphere or mood is the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. Elements that can influence the mood of a work include setting, tone and events. Jackson creates the atmosphere at first peacefully and cheerfully, serves the readers to sense happiness. But then it creates a question that there must be something wrong in the people’s smiling, “…and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed…” the atmosphere also contributes the story to be ironic, when it is stated that everybody seems to be happy but as a matter of fact they tries to hide their nervousness. And still we can feel their anxiety,

“…and they both laughed softly.”, “…and soft laughter ran through the crowd as the people stirred back into position after Mrs. Hutchinson’s arrival.”, “…They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously…”, “After that, there was a long pause, a breathless pause, until Mr. Summers holding his slip of paper in the air…”

At the end of story finally we found that the cheerfulness, the smiling and the laughing of the people is just another evasion of hiding and avoiding their suspense, fear, anxiety and nervousness. They keep pretending not to be worried about who will get the lottery, or in another word, who will be stoned next.

e. Style (a writer’s typical way of writing. Style includes word choice, tone, degree of formality, figurative language)

Jackson’s writing style is a type of horror and it also keeps the readers in suspense from the very beginning of the story until the end. Jackson applies her simple language, terms, word choice, and tone in her story to reunite the whole elements to create the irony. So the style in this story is served ironically, the readers might think that a lottery is such kind of an activity in which whoever will get it, she or he will afford presents or gifts. And yet this is true, from the beginning the story describes about the process of the lottery and finally comes to the one who gets the lottery. In this section is Tessie Hutchinson, she accepts her present, but the present is a sentence to death by the society.

. Figures of speech (various expressive devices used in lieu of plain prose for vivid depiction)

Allegory --parallel story with underlying moral or message

Symbolism --using inanimate or imagined things to stand for real situations

Jackson serves this story allegorically, in which the story itself refers to another story. It is like a metaphor in that one thing (usually nonrational, nonconcrete, abstract, or religious) is simplicity spoken on its terms of something that is concrete and usually sensuous, but the comparison in allegory is extended to include a whole work or a large portion of a work and is usually part of a whole system of equivalencies.

Simply literally, the lottery may be considered a symbolic story. It stands for – New England Puritanism or Original Sin. Although it is talking about a woman named Tessie Hutchinson, if we want to look closer, Jackson actually provides this story refers to a woman named Anne Hutchinson, who was struggled to change the old Puritan teachings by her own idea. Although there were some men and women follow her, as a matter of fact she could not able to fight against the society’s law.

THE LOTTERY SUMMARY by: SHIRLEY JACKSON

This story is talking about a lottery which happens in a certain village in the clear and sunny morning of June 27^th. This is always been done each year in 27^th of June. The lottery or actually it describes a ritual of stoning to the one who is being chosen by the slip of paper. The papers themselves are being made and prepared by the official of the lottery, who is called as Mr. Summers. He put a black spot of pencil on one of them. The one who gets the paper with a black spot on it, then she or he is considered as the next victim to be stoned to death by the whole community in that village.

This kind of ritual has been being believed by the whole society, because if they give up from doing this then they won’t be able to get a heavy harvest time. So there must be someone to be sacrificed for the sake of a good harvest’s result.

The lottery system is to take a folded paper inside a black box by every heads of families. They should not open the slip of the paper until it is being told so. Until then, the one of the heads of families who gets the paper with a black spot on it will take a turn of choosing a lottery again but this time is with the whole of the family members. The victim in this story is characterized by a woman named Tessie Hutchinson, who is coming late to the ritual. She comes right after the official of the lottery begins to start the lottery.

Bill Hutchinson comes first with the black spotted paper, and then followed by the whole family to take their turns one by one. Finally the black spotted paper is taken by Tessie Hutchinson. She tries to runaway with the reason that the choosing lottery has been done unfairly. But still, the whole society keeps on moving towards her and throws the stones and pebbles, which are being collected and prepared by the children right before the ritual is begun.

DEATH BY SCRABBLE SHORT STORY

Death By Scrabble

by: Charlie Fish

It's a hot day and I hate my wife.

We're playing Scrabble. That's how bad it is. I'm 42 years old, it's a blistering hot Sunday afternoon and all I can think of to do with my life is to play Scrabble.

I should be out, doing exercise, spending money, meeting people. I don't think I've spoken to anyone except my wife since Thursday morning. On Thursday morning I spoke to the milkman.

My letters are crap.

I play, appropriately, BEGIN. With the N on the little pink star. Twenty-two points.

I watch my wife's smug expression as she rearranges her letters. Clack, clack, clack. I hate her. If she wasn't around, I'd be doing something interesting right now. I'd be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I'd be starring in the latest Hollywood blockbuster. I'd be sailing the Vendee Globe on a 60-foot clipper called the New Horizons - I don't know, but I'd be doing something.

She plays JINXED, with the J on a double-letter score. 30 points. She's beating me already. Maybe I should kill her.

If only I had a D, then I could play MURDER. That would be a sign. That would be permission.

I start chewing on my U. It's a bad habit, I know. All the letters are frayed. I play WARMER for 22 points, mainly so I can keep chewing on my U.

As I'm picking new letters from the bag, I find myself thinking - the letters will tell me what to do. If they spell out KILL, or STAB, or her name, or anything, I'll do it right now. I'll finish her off.

My rack spells MIHZPA. Plus the U in my mouth. Damn.

The heat of the sun is pushing at me through the window. I can hear buzzing insects outside. I hope they're not bees. My cousin Harold swallowed a bee when he was nine, his throat swelled up and he died. I hope that if they are bees, they fly into my wife's throat.

She plays SWEATIER, using all her letters. 24 points plus a 50 point bonus. If it wasn't too hot to move I would strangle her right now.

I am getting sweatier. It needs to rain, to clear the air. As soon as that thought crosses my mind, I find a good word. HUMID on a double-word score, using the D of JINXED. The U makes a little splash of saliva when I put it down. Another 22 points. I hope she has lousy letters.

< 2 >

She tells me she has lousy letters. For some reason, I hate her more.

She plays FAN, with the F on a double-letter, and gets up to fill the kettle and turn on the air conditioning.

It's the hottest day for ten years and my wife is turning on the kettle. This is why I hate my wife. I play ZAPS, with the Z doubled, and she gets a static shock off the air conditioning unit. I find this remarkably satisfying.

She sits back down with a heavy sigh and starts fiddling with her letters again. Clack clack. Clack clack. I feel a terrible rage build up inside me. Some inner poison slowly spreading through my limbs, and when it gets to my fingertips I am going to jump out of my chair, spilling the Scrabble tiles over the floor, and I am going to start hitting her again and again and again.

The rage gets to my fingertips and passes. My heart is beating. I'm sweating. I think my face actually twitches. Then I sigh, deeply, and sit back into my chair. The kettle starts whistling. As the whistle builds it makes me feel hotter.

She plays READY on a double-word for 18 points, then goes to pour herself a cup of tea. No I do not want one.

I steal a blank tile from the letter bag when she's not looking, and throw back a V from my rack. She gives me a suspicious look. She sits back down with her cup of tea, making a cup-ring on the table, as I play an 8-letter word: CHEATING, using the A of READY. 64 points, including the 50-point bonus, which means I'm beating her now.

She asks me if I cheated.

I really, really hate her.

She plays IGNORE on the triple-word for 21 points. The score is 153 to her, 155 to me.

The steam rising from her cup of tea makes me feel hotter. I try to make murderous words with the letters on my rack, but the best I can do is SLEEP.

My wife sleeps all the time. She slept through an argument our next-door neighbours had that resulted in a broken door, a smashed TV and a Teletubby Lala doll with all the stuffing coming out. And then she bitched at me for being moody the next day from lack of sleep.

< 3 >

If only there was some way for me to get rid of her.

I spot a chance to use all my letters. EXPLODES, using the X of JINXED. 72 points. That'll show her.

As I put the last letter down, there is a deafening bang and the air conditioning unit fails.

My heart is racing, but not from the shock of the bang. I don't believe it - but it can't be a coincidence. The letters made it happen. I played the word EXPLODES, and it happened - the air conditioning unit exploded. And before, I played the word CHEATING when I cheated. And ZAP when my wife got the electric shock. The words are coming true. The letters are choosing their future. The whole game is - JINXED.

My wife plays SIGN, with the N on a triple-letter, for 10 points.

I have to test this.

I have to play something and see if it happens. Something unlikely, to prove that the letters are making it happen. My rack is ABQYFWE. That doesn't leave me with a lot of options. I start frantically chewing on the B.

I play FLY, using the L of EXPLODES. I sit back in my chair and close my eyes, waiting for the sensation of rising up from my chair. Waiting to fly.

Stupid. I open my eyes, and there's a fly. An insect, buzzing around above the Scrabble board, surfing the thermals from the tepid cup of tea. That proves nothing. The fly could have been there anyway.

I need to play something unambiguous. Something that cannot be misinterpreted. Something absolute and final. Something terminal. Something murderous.

My wife plays CAUTION, using a blank tile for the N. 18 points.

My rack is AQWEUK, plus the B in my mouth. I am awed by the power of the letters, and frustrated that I cannot wield it. Maybe I should cheat again, and pick out the letters I need to spell SLASH or SLAY.

Then it hits me. The perfect word. A powerful, dangerous, terrible word.

I play QUAKE for 19 points.

I wonder if the strength of the quake will be proportionate to how many points it scored. I can feel the trembling energy of potential in my veins. I am commanding fate. I am manipulating destiny.

My wife plays DEATH for 34 points, just as the room starts to shake. I gasp with surprise and vindication - and the B that I was chewing on gets lodged in my throat. I try to cough. My face goes red, then blue. My throat swells. I draw blood clawing at my neck. The earthquake builds to a climax.

I fall to the floor. My wife just sits there, watching.

DEATH BY SCRABBLE INTERPRETATION

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE STORY The story begins with the narrator’s statement (the husband), by saying, ”It’s a hot day, and I hate my wife.” He has none to talk to except his wife since Thursday morning. On a hot Sunday afternoon, actually he could do something fun outside, but unfortunately, all he can think of to do with his life is playing scrabble. It is not merely about playing scrabble, but deeper than that, it is about the husband’s flirtation with another woman. When the wife finally knew the husband’s affair, he becomes hate her. That is why on Sunday afternoon, the conflict finally comes to surface. The husband is shown in the beginning of the story, he plays the word “BEGIN”. This is interpreted as his action of moaning and complaining for being bored and trapped in the house, without being allowed to have a conversation with other people. He imagines if only the wife is not around, he will be able to do something interesting outside with his affair. The wife then responses by saying bad words to her husband for she is also annoyed because of her husband’s bad behavior, this is shown in the word “JINXED”, which means bad luck.

The husband gets offended by the wife’s curse. He then decides to plan of murdering his wife. So he starts to chew on his U. He starts to think about finding a way to kill his wife. The husband’s feeling is illustrated by the word “WARMER”, he begins to arrange some execution plans for his wife. The situation is no longer calm; this is described in the sentence, “…as the heat of the sun is pushing at him through the window”. The wife seems get emotional and keeps accusing his husband for having affair, she only wants his commit his mistake. That is why she chooses the word “SWEATIER”, to show that her word influences her husband and makes him nervous. The husband then plays “HUMID” represents his struggle to cover his nervousness by denying the wife’s accusation but in hesitation way.

Furthermore, the wife plays the word “FAN”. She decides to solve the problem by offering a divorce. But according to her husband, the solution she made creates the situation even worse. The husband definitely does not want to accept this decision; he still wants to continue the marriage and forgets all the things happened. This is shown in the word “ZAPS”, the husband’s response is unexpected for his wife and makes her shocked. This is illustrated in the sentence, “…and she gets a static shock off the air conditioning unit.”

Finally the wife wants to accept her husband’s decision to keep maintaining their marriage but without forgetting his flirtation. She plays “READY”. The husband then tries another tactic to calm his wife. He plays “CHEATING”. He denies his woman affair, and pretends that he does not know about her at all. This part is described in the paragraph 21, “I steal a blank tile from the letter bag when she’s not looking, and throw back a V from my rack. She gives me a suspicious look.” And yet, his wife suspects him although he has tried many things to hide the woman but she knows the truth and she wants her husband to admit it. “She asks me if I cheated.”

The wife then plays “IGNORE”, shows her response to her husband lies. She feels frustrated, annoyed and fed up but she does not want to continue the fight. Therefore, she chooses to keep quiet. On the other side, the husband intends to finish his wife off, but still he does not find a good chance. That is why he finally decides to play “SLEEP”. The best thing he can do is to ask his wife to get some sleep or rest, so probably his wife will be able to forgive him after having some “sleep”.

The next statement, “And then she bitched at me for being moody the next day from lack of sleep” is an ambiguous sentence. It could be the wife who is being moody because lack of sleep and it could also be the husband who is being moody from lack of sleep. The first ambiguity occurs when the wife becomes annoying because she feels unsatisfied after “sleep” or in other words, the husband could not play satisfyingly. The second ambiguity appears when the wife becomes annoying seeing her husband is moody because lack of sleep, probably he is busy thinking to find a chance to kill his wife.

However, either the wife or the husband becomes moody, this makes the fight continue and even worse. Finally the husband plays “EXPLODES” shows his feeling of being emotion, he reveals everything. He admits all the things he has done. Hoping the wife will give up and stop forcing him to admit.

But the wife does not seem interesting by her husband’s admission; she even plays “SIGN” to remind her husband calmly to keep his mouth and take a good care. He is now in a completely extreme emotion. The husband then realizes about his gun. He feels afraid and anxiety of using this weapon to kill his wife, but he has to do it quickly. “…I start frantically chewing on the B.”

Trying to calm his anxiety, the husband tries to persuade his wife by giving such false promises in order to maintain their marriage. He plays “FLY” merely to release himself from being nervous for a while, so that he can focuses holding his gun toward his wife. He won’t get missed the target. “I sit back in my chair and close my eyes, waiting for the sensation of rising up from my chair. Waiting to fly.”

Once again, the wife does not seem care with the husband’s persuasion. On the contrary, she even threats him that he will be sorry for betraying her. She plays “CAUTION”. The situation becomes hotter as the husband thinks that he already has a gun in his hand and he immediately holds it toward his wife. He plays “QUAKE”. Feeling he finally finds a perfect chance to kill his wife. He is manipulating destiny. The wife, who deserves to continue her living, but now she has to die in his hands. This is the point, which shows the couple’s fight.

Somehow, at last the wife is able to play the word "DEATH" and grabs the weapon from her husband and shoots him right on his neck, “Bang!” the husband suddenly gasps with surprise, his throat swells. He draws blood clawing at his neck.He falls to the floor, dead. And his wife just sits there, watching.

PLOT

PLOT

Plot is divided into four parts: exposition (includes foreshadowing and introduction), inciting incident, rising action, climax, anticlimax and resolution and denouement. ·Exposition The foreshadowing is described in the first paragraph, “It’s a hot day and I hate my wife”. It illustrates the whole story thoroughly, in which the story focuses on the husband’s thought of a plan to murder his wife for he hates her so much. The introduction starts from the 2nd – 6th paragraph. It tells how the game moves on between two players -the husband and the wife- and how they try to beat each other (from the word “BEGIN” – “JINXED”). ·Inciting incident It introduces the central conflict. It is shown in paragraph 7, when the husband tends to kill his wife, “…Maybe I should kill her”. The inciting incident then develops and the action rises. The developments, which describe the husband’s efforts to murder his wife, are shown in the paragraph 8th-29th. ·Rising Action Rising action is illustrated in the 30th – 37th paragraph, when the husband finally realizes that the scrabble words they have created are coming to be real. The suspense increases as the complications of the conflict develop. ·Climax Climax is shown in the 38th – 41st paragraph, when the husband is struck by a powerful, terrible and dangerous word. He then decides to play “QUAKE”. Hoping by this word, he will finally be able to end his wife’s life. ·Anticlimax Anticlimax is described in the 41st – 42nd paragraph. It also includes irony when the husband’s intensity to finish her wife’s life is in vain. Unexpectedly, Fish ends this story by killing the husband. He has to die in his wife’s hand when she plays the word “DEATH”. ·Resolution and denouement

Fish sets the resolution of the story in the last paragraph. It is described, when the husband finally dead and falls to the floor. The denouement is shown when the wife just sits there and watches.

STYLE AND ATMOSPHERE

STYLE Style is a writer’s typical way of writing. The writer uses a plain style, which is a way of writing that uses uncomplicated sentences and ordinary words to make the story simple. ATMOSPHERE Atmosphere is the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. Elements that can influence the mood of a work include its setting, tone, and events. The setting, tone, and events contribute the atmosphere in suspense and thriller.

IRONY AND SYMBOLISM

C. IRONY AND SYMBOLISM The irony can be found in the last paragraph of the story, when the husband hates his wife and he wants to “play” her dead by playing the scrabble words ‘dead’ or ‘kill’. But, he hasn’t got the right letters to play one of these words. So he wants to tease her by playing some other words. Like ‘ZAPS’, ‘CHEATING’, and ‘QUAKE’. The readers seem to be led by the narrator to follow the narrator’s mind, which is to kill his wife. But unexpectedly, the story is ended by the death, which comes to the husband himself. Every word of the game is considered as a symbol. Scrabble symbolizes marriage and the tiles symbolize the action taken or done inside the marriage. All the words symbolize the action of the couple’s fight. . Begin : the beginning of the conflict · Jinxed : the starting point of the conflict · Warmer : the husband is provoked by his wife’s word · The letter U : represents the wife · Sweatier : the wife forces her husband to admit something, this also symbolizes the husband’s nervousness. · Humid : the husband’s denial to the wife’s accusation hesitantly. · Fan : the wife tries to solve the problem but it makes the problem even worse (probably she offers to divorce) · Zaps : the husband’s madness because of the wife’s solution. · Ready : the wife accepts the husband’s challenge. · The letter V : represents the husband’s woman affair. · Cheating : the husband plays a trick on his wife by having affair with another woman. · Ignore : the wife ignores her husband’s behavior. · Sleep : the best thing the husband can do for asking his wife’s apology. · Explodes : the husband finally reveals his flirtation or his affair with another woman. · Sign : the wife reminds her husband to keep his mouth. · The letter B : represents the weapon or gun, which is sounded “Bang” · Fly : the husband’s persuasion toward his wife, in order to release himself both from the conflict and the wife. · Caution : the wife’s threat toward her husband. · Quake : the final point of the husband’s madness and. · Death : the husband’s final execution, which is done by the wife . Points : refers to the power of each players.

SETTING

B. SETTING

The setting of the story takes place only in the couple’s house. It is described in paragraph 3, “I should be out…” and paragraph 12, “The heat of the sun is pushing at me through the window”. It indicates that the couple is inside a certain room of the house. Then the wife fills the kettle and turn on the air conditioning (paragraph 16). It indicates more that the wife fills the kettle somewhere inside a house, probably in the kitchen. She also turns on the air conditioning that it is only turned on in indoor room.

The couple plays scrabble on a very hot Sunday afternoon and continues till the next day. “It’s a hot day…” (p. 1) “…it’s a blistering hot Sunday afternoon…” (p. 2) “The heat of the sun is pushing at me through the window.” (p. 12)“… And then she bitched at me for being moody the next day from lack of sleep.” (p. 26)

CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION

This story is characterized by a couple. It is a husband and his wife.

· The characterization of the husband:

He is a tricky man. He is a disloyal husband; therefore, he likes to deceive his wife. Once he can cheat well, he thinks that he can cheat again to deceive his wife. “I steal a blank tile from the letter bag when she’s not looking…” (p. 21) “I played the word CHEATING when I cheated” (p. 30) “Maybe I should cheat again,…”(p. 38)

He is also an emotional person. Whenever his wife does something he doesn’t like, he will hate her, mad at her, and think to throw her away. “She tells me she has lousy letters. For some reason, I hate her more.” (p.15) “If only there was some way for me to get rid of her.” (p.27)

· The characterization of the wife:

She is a harsh woman. She is mean because she doesn’t do anything when her husband lies in pain and starts to die. She just sits and watches. It describes that she has no mercy for her husband. In the beginning, she plays “JINXED”, which means that she curses her husband. It indicates that she is full of hatred. “I watch my wife's smug expression as she rearranges her letters. Clack, clack, clack.” (p. 6) “She plays JINXED,…” (p. 7)“I fall to the floor. My wife just sits there, watching.” (p. 44)

DEATH BY SCRABBLE ANALYSIS

THE ANALYSIS OF THE STORY I analyze this story by using formalism approach, which is concentrated to the intrinsic elements only, ignoring all the extrinsic elements, including the author’s biography. We consider that the story is a good piece of art both in form and meaning. That is why we decide to use a formalism approach.

On the other hand, the story is told in allegory. An allegory (from Greek: αλλος, allos, "other", and αγορευειν, agoreuein, "to speak in public") is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal.

It is a form of extended metaphor, in which the objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric, but an allegory does not have to be expressed in language: it may be addressed to the eye, and is often found in realistic painting, sculpture or some other form of mimetic, or representative art.

Furthermore, the story is also irony. It is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or discordance between what a speaker or a writer says and what he or she means, or is generally understood.

There is some argument about what is or is not ironic, but all the different senses of irony revolve around the perceived notion of an incongruity between what is said and what is meant; or between an understanding of reality, or an expectation of a reality, and what actually happens.

Irony can be funny, but it does not have to be. It results when there is a disjunction between what an audience would expect and what really happens.

Death by Scrabble

DEATH BY SCRABBLE SUMMARY

by: Charlie Fish This story is about playing scrabble by a couple in their house on a hot Sunday afternoon. It describes the husband’s feelings of hatred. He imagines for going out, doing exercise or even sailing the Vendee Globe rather than playing scrabble with his wife. He has been in the house since Thursday morning, and he has none to talk to except his wife. The husband takes the first turn; he starts the game by playing the word “BEGIN”, 22 points. The wife takes her next turn and plays “JINXED”, 30 points. The husband has a bad habit for chewing on the tile. He begins to chew on the letter U. He plays the word “WARMER” and the heat of the sun is pushing at the husband through the window. As soon as the atmosphere becomes hotter the wife chooses to play the word “SWEATIER”. The husband is getting sweatier, he needs water to clean the air, and so whenever the thought crosses his mind, he plays the word “HUMID”, with U, which is chewed on by him. Next, the wife plays “FAN”, she tends to clear the air. She then gets up to fill the kettle and turns on the air conditioner. The next turn, the husband plays “ZAPS” and the wife gets the electric shock. The husband keeps thinking to find a way to kill his wife. As soon as the kettle starts whistling, it makes him feel hotter. The wife then plays “READY” and goes to pour a cup of tea for herself. When it comes to the husband’s turn, he plays a trick. He throws back his “V” and takes a blank tile from the letter bag. He plays “CHEATING” and the wife asks him if he has cheated. But, she chooses to play “IGNORE”. The husband hates her even more, he thinks to play a murderous word with his letter on his rack but still the best he can do is to play “SLEEP”. The wife sleeps all time, she does not even awake when the neighbor argues, breaks the door, smashes the TV and throws all the stuffing out of the house. On the next day she becomes annoying because lack of sleep. The husband tries to find a way to get rid of her. He plays “EXPLODES”, as he puts the last letter down, there is a bang and the air conditioning unit fails. Finally he realizes that all the words they make are coming to be real. She decides to play “SIGN”. The husband feels that he has to test this word. He wants to know if the words are coming to be true, so he must play a word to prove that the letter makes it happen. He starts to chew on the “B” and plays “FLY”. He imagines that by playing this word he will be able to fly, so he sits back in his chair and closes his eyes, waiting to fly. Unfortunately, it does not seem like the way it should be, he then finds a fly, an insect, buzzing around above the Scrabble board. Until then, he keeps thinking to find another unambiguous word, which cannot be misinterpreted, absolute and final. Something that is murderous. The wife takes her turn, she plays “CAUTION”. The husband has “AQWEUK” on his rack plus “B” in his mouth; suddenly it crosses on his mind, a perfect word, powerful, terrible and dangerous. He plays “QUAKE”. But just as the room begins to shake, the wife plays “DEATH”.The letter “B”, which is chewed by the husband lodged in his throat, he fails to cough and dies. He falls to the floor, and the wife just sits there, watching.