Fiction Essay

ENGL 102: Composition and Literature

Spring B 2012
Major L. Hillman #23642890
MLA

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Major Hillman, 23642890

Professor Jennie Camp
English 102-B50
24 January 2012
Fiction Essay
Thesis: TheLotteryandTheDestructors;twostorieswithoutstandingcharactersand
wonderfullyskewedqualities;twostorieswithdeepcharacteremotionsandattitudes;stories
withfascinatingcharacterdevelopment;andabovealltwostoriesthatshowhowmanaloneisnt
allthatgood.
I.

Introduction to the essay comparison.

A. The Lottery and The Destructors; two stories with outstanding
characters and qualities; two stories with deep character emotions and
attitudes; and above all, two stories with fascinating character

development.
B. The innate goodness of man does not exist.
II. The Destructors characters
A. Trevor is the protagonist of this Story
1. Extremely unchanging static character.
2. Very round character, learn a lot of personality through story.
B. The House, being the antagonist to Trevor.
1. Not being a person, the House is a force that opposes Trevor.
2. Without this force, there is no plot.
C. Minor, supporting, characters in the story.
1. The old gang leader, Blackie.
2. Old Misery, Mr. Thomas, is the owner of the House.
III. The Lottery characters
A. The protagonist is not a character, but a group of charters; the village.
1. The village is the only force of good in the story.
2. Fatal flaw in good behavior; the act of murder.
B. The lottery is the antagonist of this story.
1. Force against the village, the lottery rules over the village.
2. The thought of breaking the lottery tradition might just bring down
the village as well.

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C. Mr. Summers, the power over the village, but no power against the
lottery
D. Old Man Warner, Tess Hutchinson, and the young boys reveal much
about the story
IV. Conclusion
A. TheLotteryandTheDestructors;twostorieswithoutstandingcharactersand
wonderfullyskewedqualities;twostorieswithdeepcharacteremotionsandattitudes;
storieswithfascinatingcharacterdevelopment;andabovealltwostoriesthatshowhow
manaloneisntallthatgood.
B. Final comparison of the two short stories.

Major Hillman, 23642890

Professor Jennie Camp
English 102-B50
24 January 2012
FictionEssay
TheLotteryandTheDestructors;twostorieswithoutstandingcharactersand
wonderfullyskewedqualities;twostorieswithdeepcharacteremotionsandattitudes;twostories
withfascinatingcharacterdevelopment;andabovealltwostoriesthatshowhowmanaloneisnt

Hillman

allthatgood.Withinbothstoriestheinnategoodnessofmanisportrayed;notthroughblatant
statements,butthroughthewaythestoriesputforthnoconsequencesforthepeoplewhoenact
evildeeds.Whenthecharactersofbothstoriesareanalyzed,theirgoodbehaviorisrecognized
asbeingevilanddeservingofconsequence.
Trevor,theprotagonistinTheDestructors,isthemaincharacterwithinthisshortstory.
Trevor,T,beingtheprotagonistisverystatic.Oncehischaracterisdeveloped,heneverchanges.
Trevorisunderstandablyakeycharactertotheplot,ashecomesfromadifferentclass.He
comesfromadifferentorder;thisisthereasonforhisultimatedesirefordestructionofthat
order.
[T]hefactthathisfather,aformerarchitectandpresentclerk,hadcomedowninthe
worldandthathismotherconsideredherselfbetterthantheneighbors.(Greene,1.)
Trevorwasfromahighersocialorder,amiddleclass,andhedesirestotakerevengeonit.To
takerevengebydestroyingwhatithadproduced.WithTrevortakingrevenge,heseesitasa
goodthing,butwhengiventheauthorsskewedreasonforhisdestruction;itisknowntonotbe
arightthing.[D]estructionafterallisaformofcreation.(Greene,8.)
TheantagonistoftheTheDestructorsistheinanimateHouse.TheHouseisin
oppositiontothegoalsandaspirationsofTrevor,theprotagonist.TheHouse,beingamiddle
classbuilding,hadsurvivedwhereTrevorandhisfamilyhadfallenafterWorldWarII.The
HouseistheobjectofattentionforTrevor;itisthecharacterthatreceivesthedownfalland
destructionattheconclusionofthestory.
ThekeysupportingcharactersoftheshortstoryTheDestructorsareBlackie,thegangs
leader;andOldMisery,theowneroftheantagonisticHouse.Bothcharactersaddtothestoryas

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beingsupportingprotagonistsandantagonists.Trevor,afteranapparentfailure,issupportedby
Blackietocontinuethedestruction.[Trevor]hadnowordsashisdreamsshookandslid.Then
Blackieactedbeforetheganghadtimetolaugh.(Greene,11.)Blackiesupportedthe
destructiveactevenwhenitwasapparentitwouldfail.Withoutanowner,whohappenedtobea
decoratorofmiddletoupperclasshomes,thehousewouldnothaveevenbeenatargetfor
destruction.
TheLottery,aninterestingandhorrificstorycontainsmanycharacters,allwhichare
revealingtothestory.Fromthechildrenplayingatthebeginning,totheOldManshoutingatthe
end,theyallhaveabittoaddtothedevelopmentandoverallsuspenseofthestory.Withso
manycharacters,allforcesagainstacommonenemy,theyarealltheprotagonist.Thevillageis
theprotagonistinTheLottery.Thevillagewillplayagametounitethem;asavillage,with
everyoneinagreement,theywillkill.However,theykillforagoodreason,theykillone
membereveryyearsothattheremainingmemberscanbemoreofacommunity.Thevillageis
thehero,aforceforgoodwiththefatalflawofmurder.
Theonlyantagonistthattherecanbewithinsuchastoryistheoppressiveforce;the
oppressiveforcebeingthelotteryitself.Thelotteryopposesthevillage,keepsitinline,and
keepsitsuppressed.Thelotteryispowerlesstodefendagainstthevillageasanantagonist,butis
extremelyfearfulandtraditional,andsokeepsthevillageannuallyfollowingthroughwith
murder.Ultimately,thelotterytearsapartthecommunalbondthatthevillageisseeking.
EverycharacterwithinTheLotteryfurtherdevelopstheprotagonistcharacterandthe
antagonistcharacter.Mr.Summersperfectlyprojectsthepointthatthevillagehaspowerover
thelottery,butnoauthority.Mr.Summerscreatesallthepaperseveryyear,butevenwithbeing
abletocheathestillplaysthegame;fullyknowingthathehasanequalopportunityofbeing

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murdered.Mr.Summerscalledhisownnameandthensteppedforwardpreciselyandselected
aslipfromthebox.(Jackson,4.)
OldManWarner,TessHutchinson,andtheboysfromthebeginningallshareinsights
intothewarpedgoodthatthevillageisproudof.WhenWarnerheardthatothervillageswere
givingupthetradition,heinterjectswithanger.Heseesthelotteryasablessing,asheisthe
oldestandhehasseenwhatgoodhascomefromsuchtradition.OldManWarnersnorted.
"Packofcrazyfools.(Jackson,4.)Theboyspilerocksupatthebeginningofthestory,ina
playfulmood.Readingthis,onegetsthesenseofjoyandmerrimentastothetraditionalgood
ofthelottery;butlaterfindwhatthepileofrocksarefor.Finally,Tess,whenfacedwithdeath
realizesthatthelotteryasgoodasitmaybeisjustnotfairorright."Itisn'tfair,itisn'tright,"
Mrs.Hutchinsonscreamed.(Jackson,7.)
TheLotteryandTheDestructorsaretwostoriesofhorribleandextremelyrash
actions;twostorieswithfascinatingcharacterswithterriblequalitiesofaskewedgoodness;
twoshortstorieswithheroeswhoappear,andintheirowneye,knowtheyaredoinggood;when
infactitjustisnt.Emotions,attitudes,andaspirationsofthecharactersarerevealed,inboth
stories,continuouslythroughouttheplot.Emotionsandattitudesofapparentgoodareshown,
wheninfactshowntobeevilandjustnotallthatgood.

WorksCited
Jackson,Shirley.TheLottery.1948.PDFfile
Greene,Graham.TheDestructors.1954.PDFfile.

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