IRONY, TONE, AND CHARACTERIZATION 1
Irony, Tone, and Characterization of “The Lottery” and “The Rocking Horse Winner”
English 102: Literature and Composition
Summer D 2019
Abigail Judson ID # 28571558
APA
IRONY, TONE, AND CHARACTERIZATION 2
Thesis Statement and Outline
Thesis Statement: Shirley Jackson and D.H. Lawrence each crafted a story that depicts their
protagonists as they face a personal dilemma between selfishness and morals and learn the true
meaning of luck. Jackson and Lawrence use irony, tone, and the characterization of their
protagonists to demonstrate the unreliable and addictive power of luck as well as the power of
personal morals.
I. Irony and Tone
a. Ironic Title
i. The title of “The Lottery” is ironic when Tessie “wins” the lottery “the
villagers moved in on her” and “a stone hit her on the side of the head,”
(Jackson, 1948, para. 77).
ii. The title of “The Rocking Horse Winner” is ironic because Paul also loses
his life in conjunction to winning, “you’re eighty-odd thousand to the
good and a poor devil of a son to the bad” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 244).
b. Shifting tone
i. “The Lottery” starts with a peaceful tone describing “a full-summer day”
(Jackson, 1948, para. 1) which shifts to anxious and then despairing as the
story closes with Tessie being stoned.
ii. “The Rocking Horse Winner” shifts from a bleak tone detailing a mother
who “could not love” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 1) to a hopeful tone as Paul
wins more money to a desperate tone when Paul was no longer able to
“know” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 182).
II. Characterization
a. Morality and Selfishness
i. Tessie had a change of heart about the lottery. At first, she had no problem
with it, even going so far as to make a joke, “Wouldn’t have me leave
m’dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?” (Jackson, 1948, para. 9).
Tessie does not change her mind about the lottery until it is her that wins,
“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” (Jackson, 1948, para. 79).
ii. Paul’s only motivation for gambling in the horse races is to get money for
his mother so that “it might stop whispering” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 149).
He is battling his mother’s selfish greed.
b. Luck
i. Tessie is disillusioned with the power of luck when her family is chosen in
the lottery, repeating “It wasn’t fair,” (Jackson, 1949, para. 45) over and
over.
ii. Paul begins with a misunderstood sense of luck, believing that having
money is having luck because luck is “what causes you to have money”
(Lawrence, 1933, para. 18) however, he is soon drawn to its addictive and
relentless power, “madly surging on the rocking horse” (Lawrence, 1933,
para. 223) as he strives to win again.
IRONY, TONE, AND CHARACTERIZATION 3
Irony, Tone, and Characterization of “The Lottery” and “The Rocking Horse Winner”
The struggles of luck and morality are universal problems. Everyone faces moral
dilemmas, and everyone faces the harsh reality of luck as it turns on them at some point in their
lives. Shirley Jackson and D.H. Lawrence each crafted a story that depicts their protagonists as
they face a personal dilemma between selfishness and morals and learn the true meaning of luck.
Jackson and Lawrence use irony, tone, and the characterization of their protagonists to
demonstrate the unreliable and addictive power of luck as well as the power of personal morals.
Both authors utilize irony in the titles of their works. The title of “The Lottery” is ironic
because Tessie “wins” the lottery, but her prize is death as “the villagers moved in on her” and “a
stone hit her on the side of the head,” (Jackson, 1948, para. 77). Lawrence demonstrates the same
irony is the title “The Rocking Horse Winner” because Paul also loses his life in conjunction to
winning, as Uncle Oscar says to Hester, “you’re eighty-odd thousand to the good and a poor
devil of a son to the bad” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 244). The use of irony in both titles highlights
one of the common themes in the stories, winning is not everything and luck is not reliable or
trustworthy. Jackson also uses irony in “The Lottery” to show the moral issues of her short story.
When the villagers are more concerned about being “home for noon dinner” (Lawrence, 1933,
para. 1) than they are the ritual murder of one of their friends they demonstrate a lack of general
morality because Tessie was the only one to call out the village for their ritual.
A shifting tone was also employed by both authors. “The Lottery” starts with a peaceful
tone describing “a full-summer day” (Jackson, 1948, para. 1) which shifts to anxious and then
despairing as the story closes with Tessie being stoned, while “The Rocking Horse Winner”
shifts from a bleak tone detailing a mother who “could not love” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 1) to a
hopeful tone as Paul wins more money to a desperate tone when Paul was no longer able to
IRONY, TONE, AND CHARACTERIZATION 4
“know” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 182). The shift in tone of each short story allowed the authors to
demonstrate the mixed emotions that come with luck and morality issues. Each protagonist is
beginning the story as normal until they no longer have luck on their side, which is shown by a
shift in tone. The tone then shifts again when Tessie and Paul face the consequences of relying on
luck.
The protagonists in each story also share similar selfish moral standards, only working to
right a moral wrong when it benefits themselves. Tessie’s change of heart about the lottery does
not happen until it is her that wins and she begins to call, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” (Jackson,
1948, para. 79). At first, she had no problem with it, even going so far as to make a joke,
“Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?” (Jackson, 1948, para. 9),
demonstrating that her new moral stand against the lottery is purely selfish in design.
Lawrence’s, Paul, only began gambling in the horse races is to get money for his mother so that
his home “might stop whispering” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 149). He is battling his mother’s
selfish greed, but it is not purely so that he can help his mother. Paul’s motivation is to end the
“whispering” of his home and to prove to his mother that he can be lucky despite her disbelief.
Tessie and Paul also share experiences concerning luck. Tessie is disillusioned with the power of
luck when her family is chosen in the lottery, repeating “It wasn’t fair,” (Jackson, 1949, para. 45)
over and over, while Paul begins his story with a misunderstood sense of luck, believing that
having money is having luck because luck is “what causes you to have money” (Lawrence, 1933,
para. 18). However, he is soon drawn to its addictive and relentless power, “madly surging on the
rocking horse” (Lawrence, 1933, para. 223) as he strives to win again and end his losing streak.
Both protagonists are drawn in by the allure and false security provided by luck but are soon
shown that there is truly no security.
IRONY, TONE, AND CHARACTERIZATION 5
Jackson and Lawrence, both, create shocking stories detailing the rocky relationship one
can have with luck and one’s own sense of morality through irony, tone, and the characterization
of their protagonists. While, each went about creating their story differently, building surprising
twists of their own through differing tone shifts and events, they were able to create the same
central message about luck and morality in their work.
IRONY, TONE, AND CHARACTERIZATION 6
References
Jackson, S. (2018). The lottery. In G. Johnson and T. R. Arp (Eds.), Perrine’s literature:
Liberty University English 102 custom e-book. Boston, MA: Cengage. (Original work published
in 1948).
Lawrence, D. (2018). The rocking horse winner. In G. Johnson and T. R. Arp
(Eds.), Perrine’s literature: Liberty University English 102 custom e-book. Boston, MA:
Cengage. (Original work published in 1933).
