essay prep
Harrison Bergeron
The Lottery
The Pedestrian
perspective
idea 1 - people don't question traditions until they are directly affected by it
idea 2 - families can turn on each other in desperate situations
idea 3 - young children are raised to follow these traditions without doubt or question
blindly following customs and traditions can be detrimental to society
text structure
repetition
“It wasn't fair!” "It wasn't fair” "I tell you it wasn't fair.” "It isn't fair”
narrative convention
characterisation, dialogue
“Mrs Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said, gasping for breath. "I can't run at all. You'll have to go ahead and I'll catch up with you.”
narrative convention
characterisation, dialogue
“There's Don and Eva," Mrs Hutchinson yelled. "Make them take their chance!”
language feature
lexical choice
'Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand.'
language feature
descriptive language
'The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles.'
perspective
idea 1
idea 2
idea 3
an over reliance on technology can replace human connections
society is dehumanised through an over reliance on technology
language feature
lexical choice
“A metallic voice called to him: ‘Stand still. Stay where you are! Don't move!’”
the development of technology has caused loneliness and a loss of human connection
the idea that societal norms have changed over time
narrative convention
characterisation, dialogue
“Hello, in there,” he whispered to every house as he moved. ‘Whats up tonight on channel 4, channel 7, channel 9?"'
narrative convention
characterisation, dialogue
"Where are you taking me?" "To the Psychiatric Centre for Research on Regressive Tendencies"
language feature
simile
"The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where people sat like the dead, the grey or multicoloured lights touching their faces, but never really touching them."
perspective
idea 1
idea 2
idea 3
total equality comes at a cost
technology can be used as a means of controlling society
the idea that people are controlled by fear OR people conform out of fear of what will happen if they don’t
the idea that total inequality is achieved by inflicting pain on citizens
“And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.”
character action
narrative convention - character action
"Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on."
"But Harrison snatched up two musicians from their chairs. waved them like batons as he sang... He slammed them back into their chairs."
foreshadowing
“Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothie and roundest stones."