Over a short period of time, we have accumulated a lot of information regarding short stories as a result from reading. They all had many significant themes and a variety of symbolic meanings. The majority commonly share many aspects however certain stories are completely unrelated. “The Lottery Ticket” by Anton Chekhov and “Rich for One Day” by Suzanne Jacob share the most similarities. Their similarity is evident between the setting, characters and the plot.
To begin with, both stories share the same setting. They both take place back in the earlier days, where the dollar had a high value. In the “The Lottery Ticket” Ivan Dmitritch was earning approximately a monthly earning of one hundred dollars and was living normally. “Ivan Dmitritch, a middle-classed man who lived with his family on an income of twelve hundred a year and was very well satisfied with his lot.” (Chekhov, P.199). Also the prize for the winning lottery was seventy-five thousand dollars; Ivan and his wife were stating how it could allow them many things. “The ticket is yours, but if it were mine I should, first of all, of course, spend thousands on immediate expenses, new furnishings...travelling...paying debts, and so on... The other forty thousand I would put in the bank and get interest on it.” In the short fiction story “Rich for One Day” Aline considered herself to be rich and having a fortune with only eight
dollars. She allowed herself many of things, like a ticket to the movies, popcorn, coke and a taxi ride. “Then she remembered, she was rich today. She had eight dollars, a fortune. She could allow herself thousands of things.” (Jacob, P.257). Not only did the stories relate with each other through the setting but also relate through the characters.
Secondly, Ivan Dmitritch and Aline both share the same character traits. They are both have a big imagination and are laid back individuals. Ivan Dmitritch in “The Lottery Ticket” had many fantasies with what he would do with the large amount of money and started to dream often. “Pictures came crowding on his imagination, each more gracious and poetical than the last. And in all these pictures he saw himself well fed, healthy, felt warm, even hot! Here, after eating summer soup, cold as ice, he lay on his back in the burning sand close to a stream or in the garden under a lime tree.” (Chekhov, P.199). Aline in “Rich for One Day” also often fantasized and dreamed. She dreamed how rich she will be when she grows up and how the possibilities would be endless. “ She said to herself that when she was grown up, she would be very, very rich, and that she would have a car and a chauffeur, and that she would be surrounded by very rare things, very beautiful things, and very astonishing things, and she would never cease being astonished at all these things around her. And she would travel, she would spend all her time in this car, and she would stroll over the whole world and not just one or two sidewalks.” (Jacob, P.259).
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The word lottery and winner usually are associated with gain and fun, leading to a positive outcome and a happy ending. However, the authors of these two stories have given us quite the opposite of the ending of these stories, their themes are contrasting, with one of the story’s theme being a quest for love and the other theme is the lack of…
- 1610 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Dreams are the paints of a great artist, and the world is their canvas. Artists are able to produce beautiful art pieces using their ideas and imaginations. Through art, we are able to communicate stories of tragedy, peace, hardship, and ease. In many ways, visual art and written stories can be compared to one another. Like a frame to a picture, the techniques in a short story help keep the story together. As for the elements they can be seen as the painting itself, providing both story and beauty. Both techniques and elements play crucial roles together. In both short stories “The Blues Merchant” and “Rich For One Day”, the influence of the ironic technique towards characterization and theme can be noticeably seen.…
- 751 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
There are similarities and differences of “The Lottery” of the short story and The Lottery video. “The Lottery” has two different types of things a short story and a Short film over The Lottery. One similarity is that the boys still gathered up the rocks and put them in a big pile. Another difference is that when they carried the stool out it was a four legged stool instead of a three legged stool. A similarity is that Old Man Warner still warned them about giving up the lottery.…
- 175 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Usually, when one hears anything about a lottery, it is perceived as being a great fortune brought down upon whoever wins it, even if the person has done nothing to actually deserve it. After all, it is won only by a stroke of luck, an unforeseen and unexpected circumstance. But even so, it is supposed to bring wealth and luxury into the winner’s life. Not one person in today’s society would ever see the lottery as an unfortunate event that winning it would bring serious repercussions such as execution and death. On the contrary, “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, uses irony to exemplify how people can illogically follow senseless traditions and ultimately demonstrates how society can blindly persecute innocent individuals.…
- 756 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Over the years short stories have become popular for readers to be able to read and connect with the story that isn’t drawn out. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” (Oates, 1966) and “Hills Like White Elephants, (Hemingway, 1927)”. Both of these short stories tell about decisions that have to be made through different conflicts and really just making decisions for what is best for oneself.…
- 894 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Some people read stories and see them all completely different with all completely different meanings. In a way that is correct, they are all different, however; though this analysis it will be shown that“The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” are very similar through different literary elements of fiction. In “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown,” authors Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne employ point of view, setting and conflict to show similarities between these two very different stories.…
- 769 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In this piece we will be comparing and contrasting aspects of the short story “ …
- 1206 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
What the story the “Lottery ticket” by Anthon Chevoh and the song the “Good Life” by Kanye West has in common is they both depict how people imagine the fortune and what money can buy them without have actually having the money in their possessions. They both explain how money could change things from either good to bad. Ivan D went from believing that if his wife had won their life would be much better together, but has he continued to fantasize thoughts of greed and that his wife would leave him crossed his mind. In the song Kanye…
- 322 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The Lottery portrays the theme that you should not blindly go down a path that others set for you. Complementary to that, What of This Goldfish, Would you Wish? demonstrates the them somethings are worth more than others. These two themes synthesize the idea that relationships with others are built through experience which a person gains over time. In both stories, the similarities occurred by blindly having done actions that resulted in unknown results. For example, Etgar Keret, the describes how he goes around random peoples houses and asks him personal questions. One that impacted the relationship of Yonatan was when he goes into Sergei's house, “Sergei doesn’t like this, doesn’t like that the boy is almost at it, already reaching for the jar. In this instant Sergei understands the boy didn’t come for television, what he came for, specifically is to snatch Sergei’s fish, to steal it away.” This shows how your experience with each individual changed your relationship with them. This compares relatively to The Lottery because the society blindly followed a culture that was unknown to where it came from. As said in the text, “ The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, …” These two blind involvements caused the relationships with the people around them to change…
- 1087 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Poetry and short stories are a different type of literature yet they share similar elements that are portrayed in both. Most commonly they are setting, conflict, theme and tone. The Unknown Citizen, written by W.H Auden, is a poem that will be compared with the lottery, written by Shirley Jackson. Both, the short story and poem, share 2 literature devices in common. They exhibit Irony and symbolism within them. The usage of both will be compared to acknowledge the similarities between the two different literature styles. Although they may not fall into the same genre, both the Unknown Citizen and The Lottery share common literature devices to provide…
- 688 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Short-short stories have been critiqued by countless writers and every single critic has a different mentality about what needs to be in a short-short story to make it a memorable one. There have been countless authors that try to create a short-short story but at the end of the day for one reason or another, their story was not considered a short-short. Through the critiques of Alice K. Turner, Joyce Carol Oates, and Leonard Michaels one can see how the story, “The Blue Bouquet,” is able to be considered a true short-short story.…
- 724 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Human connection, sometimes called love and other times relationships, can be tested greatly when the possibility of fortune presents itself. A Russian couple experience a deep rupture in their bond when a lottery ticket they possess seems to have the winning numbers. Through the use of a losing lottery ticket, the author, Anton Chekhov, shows the fickleness of human nature in the midst of monetary interest. Despite their already quaint and secure lifestyle, the lure of greater wealth reveals their truest desires. As the couple views the ticket and allows their imaginations to unfurl, their surface connection as a romantic pair quickly dismantles as they allow their egos and self-interests to run rampant for a short bit of time. In that brief moment, their minds travel everywhere and nowhere at the same time while the genuine nature of their hearts is revealed in that short moment of contemplation.…
- 556 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The story is about a family man named IVAN DMITRITCH. He and his family were living a middle-class life and was very well satisfied with their life. Not until one day, his wife asked her to check the list of lottery drawings in the newspaper. His wife''s number got series 9,499, number 26. To his shock and amazement, he saw the series 9,499. Without checking the ticket number yet, he and his wife already started dreaming of a good life. Wanting to put…
- 1031 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Ivan Dmitritch is a middle class man who lives with his family. He is well contented as he sits on the sofa reading the paper. His wife is clearing the dishes. She asks her husband to check the lottery numbers. He asks her what is her number. She tells him it is 9499 26. Ivan notices that the first number is indeed 9499. He drops the paper and it falls on his knees. He begins daydreaming about winning the seventy-five thousand. He and his wife both begin daydreaming about what they would do with the money. They spend the next few minutes dreaming about a new house and traveling. Both the husband and wife begin making plans for spending the money. Both the husband and wife are so excited at the thought of winning all the money. They are smiling and dreaming about what they will do with the money.Then Ivan begins thinking about the possibility of his wife traveling without him. He begins thinking about her becoming stingy with the money. He begins to hate the idea of her having all that money. Likewise, the wife begins thinking that her husband will be after all her money. After all, it is her money. She begins to hate him for desiring all her money. Before the couple even knows if they have won, they have already spent the money.Finally, the husband looks to see if the number is 26. It is not. It is 46. The couple did not win. Immediately, the husband and wife begin to come back down to earth:Hatred and hope both disappeared at once, and it began immediately to seem to Ivan Dmitritch and his wife that their rooms were dark and small and low-pitched, that the supper they had been eating was not doing them good, but lying heavy on their stomachs, that the evenings were long and wearisome. . .…
- 316 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
A short story is a kind of prose fiction which has grown up besides the novel and which has its own important and recognised place in literature. It may be defined as a prose narrative, “requiring from half an hour to one hour for its perusal.” In other words, brevity is the key-note of a short story. It is a story which it is physically possible to read at one sitting. But its must not be supposed that the short story is a novel on a reduced scale. It has a definite technique of its own, and has its own requirements of matter and treatment.…
- 3225 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays