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English 9Essay Topics1. Examine the characters in “The Lottery” and how they relate to the theme of the duality of human nature. Which characters show two sides of humanity? Which characters are seemingly good natured; however, they show a different side during the events of the lottery. Make sure you have three different characters or three different moments where a character(s) show two sides2. What is the most important symbol in “The Lottery” and how does it relate to the theme of the story.3. Human beings are innately evil. Show how this theme is present in all three of the short stories---“The Most Dangerous Game,” “The Cold Equations,” and “The Lottery.”4. Consider Shirley Jackson's comment on her purpose in writing the short story "The Lottery": "I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village, to shock the story's readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives." With this observation in mind, identify, illustrate, and discuss the key elements in the story that contribute to the final effect of shock and horror. Be sure to make clear how these various elements contribute to our understanding of the story's theme.5. Explain how author, Richard Connell uses foreshadowing in “The Most Dangerous Game” to add interest and suspense. Use specific examples from the story to prove your point.6. Write an essay in which you describe three literary elements and their purpose in either “The Most Dangerous Game,” “The Cold Equations,” and “The Lottery.”7. One of the main methods that an author uses to express a specific message in a work of fiction is through the use of conflict in a story. A character usually learns an important lesson by going through an experience of conflict, and this can reveal to the reader an important message about life (theme). In an insightful, well-written five-paragraph essay, explore the author’s use of internal conflict and external conflict to convey a universal theme in the story. You must also discuss a separate literary element (setting, irony, symbol, etc.) and discuss its specific relationship to a conflict in the story that allows the author to convey the identified theme. You may use either “The Most Dangerous Game” or “The Cold Equations.”8. The theme of “the universe doesn’t care about you” is a major idea in “The Cold Equations.” Discuss how this is expressed in the short story using specific evidence and quotes. 9. "The Cold Equations" was published in 1954, at a time when technology was far less advanced than it is now. Today, we are living what, to Godwin, was the future (though not as far in the future as the story is set). Do you think the technological "future" is turning out to be as cold and harsh as Godwin predicted? In what ways is this occurring? Explain your answer with specific examples from the story as well as from society at large.10. Other essay ideas will be considered, but must be approved. ................
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