# data[].attributes.body
Hoe wordt het cijfer berekend?

# data[].attributes.headline
Useful Phrases for writing a literary review

# data[].attributes.subject
Useful Phrases for writing a literary review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl Audiobook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Lottery Introduction

The poor suckers who first read the story in the June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker.

We can imagine it now: a literary lad in a Don Draper fedora or a bookish lass in a crisp knee-length skirt. They flip to the table of contents and see a story, adorably titled "The Lottery." What could it be about? A sweet story about a poor guy who wins millions? A family that gets a new yacht? A woman who wins an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas?

And then they start reading. Pearls are clutched. Cigarettes are angrily crushed out. Innocence is lost.

Because " The Lottery" ain't about that kind of lottery. It's about a small Vermont town that holds a lottery to determine who...will be ritually stoned to death. As in, stoned with rocks. As in, killed by fellow townspeople throwing stones until the victim's skull is crushed.

"The Lottery" doesn't end with a joyous winner screaming, "I'm going to Disneyland!" It ends with a desperate woman screaming, "It isn't fair, it isn't right."

Unsurprisingly, this story caused major controversy when it was first published. Shirley Jackson's implicit critique of the brutality underlying the rituals and values of America's small towns outraged magazine readers, many of who petulantly cancelled their New Yorker subscriptions. (Check out the Encyclopedia Britannica for more on the tale's publication history.)

The anonymous, generic village in which "The Lottery" is set, in addition to the vicious twist the story gives to a common American ritual, enhanced the contemporary reader's uneasy sense that the group violence in the story could be taking place anywhere...or everywhere. Remember, guys: this was 1948. The super-conservative 1950's were dawning. The Red Scare was kicking off.

People really, really did not want to be reminded of the evil that lurked in the hearts of men...especially in a story that showed that evil triumphing over all-American family values. After all, WWII had just been completed. The good guys had won. But Shirley Jackon's story held up an upsetting mirror to the American Dream and showed us that, even though fascism had been vanquished, there was still more than enough terrifying madness to go around.

Luckily, enough people loved "The Lottery" that became one of the most widely-anthologized short stories of all time...and helped establish Jackson's position as one of the great American horror writers.

What is The Lottery About and Why Should I Care?

If you've even had to talk to your mom (or pretty much any other authority figure) you've probably heard the refrain, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?"

And your answer was probably "No." You're not a lemming or a BASE jumper; you don't even like heights.

But Shirley Jackson thinks you're lying. She thinks you-and anyone and everyone-would race off that bridge if your community decided it was necessary. According to her, while individuals may be great, a group of people is whole 'nother animal.

An animal that eats its own.

"The Lottery" is a story of a small town basically devouring a member of its own community. And it's one of the most horrifying texts you'll ever encounter. Forget or : "The Lottery" is truly terrifying.

Like so many great horror stories, this one has a load of social commentary. "The Lottery" is like the world's creepiest public service announcement against peer pressure. It's similar to those after school specials that warn against drinking beer or disobeying your parents-except Jackson is warning against unthinkingly following along with a group.

But we want to be clear: "The Lottery" isn't about short-lived, peer pressure-fueled mass hysteria like the Salem Witch Trials. No, this is about a regular, established community ritual. Everyone in this sleepy Vermont town simply accepts the fact that, every once in a while, some neighbor or other will be brutally killed via blunt trauma.

In fact, people are psyched about Lottery Day, because the exclusion (and murder) of one person = a bonding experience for the rest of the community. This murder day is a grand tradition-the townspeople think of it like a Thanksgiving Fun Run or Fourth of July Parade, only with a messier clean-up.

Jackson is giving us all a clear warning about the dangers of peer pressure. But unlike those after school specials, she's too smart to think that peer pressure is only something that happens to teenagers. And she also knows that peer pressure doesn't just turn dangerous when it's being applied to fuel a passing fad.

Some of the most dangerous peer pressure can come from more established members of the community...and it can masquerade as community tradition. (Think of the epidemic of lynchings in the Jim Crow South.)

So we think the question about jumping off a bridge should be tweaked to fit Jackson's creepy story. If people started asking, "If everyone started throwing stones at an innocent neighbor until they died, would you?" we think way more people would start thinking for themselves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The poor suckers who first read the story in the June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. We can imagine it now: a literary lad in a Don Draper fedora or a bookish lass in a crisp knee-length skirt. They flip to the table of contents and see a story, adorably titled "The Lottery."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

The Gift of the Magi Introduction

The first time you hear somebody mention O. Henry you might think they're sighing about some guy named Henry (Oh, Henry!), rather than referring to a particular person. But yes, there is an important author named O. Henry. Well, he's not really named O. Henry - that was just a pen name for the man whose real name was William Sydney Porter. And though he might not be quite as crazily popular as he was a hundred years ago, when he was writing, he's still considered one of the great American short story authors. O. Henry's stories are known for the sentimental warmth that shines through many of them, their playful and optimistic sense of humor, and especially for their twist endings. They're also often written in a uniquely oral style, as if the narrator (or O. Henry himself) were telling you the tale in person. They are perfect for reading aloud.

" The Gift of the Magi" was originally published in 1906, in O. Henry's second collection of short stories, The Four Million. "The Gift of the Magi" is probably his greatest hit, and displays all of the major O. Henry traits in abundance. Since it was first published, it's buried itself deep in popular culture. It's been retold and repackaged in countless stories, magazine columns, TV specials, musicals, movies, parodies, you name it. It's also one of those classic "Christmas stories" that people usually read during the holidays. But even if you're familiar with one or more of the many imitations - whether it's the Sesame Street holiday special or The Simpsons - it's worth checking out the original. O. Henry's a master storyteller.

What is The Gift of the Magi About and Why Should I Care?

Have you ever loved someone and wanted to find him or her just the perfect present? Our bet is you have. Could be your mom, could be your significant other. And once you're in that gift-giving frame of mind, you're in the situation of Della, the main character from "The Gift of the Magi." That's why whenever the Christmas season rolls around, people (and television networks) go in for this story big time.

You'll probably also face the same questions Della did. What is a perfect gift? And how much (money, time, etc.) are you willing to give up to find something that would really matter to that person? You might even be lead to some surprisingly large questions. What really matters, and what's really valuable? For a short, simple, and delightful way of assuring yourself that "all you need is love," this story's hard to beat. Read it to get a major case of the warm and fuzzies. Though it might also make you think more carefully about just what "love" means.

Besides all that, to be honest, you've probably encountered this story somewhere even if you didn't know it. You might have seen it filtered through Sesame Street (which lodged it forever in your child subconscious), or you might have seen it recently parodied while watching The Simpsons. "The Gift of the Magi" is the original, though, and in our opinion, nothing's really touched it. It's hard not to be charmed by O. Henry's storytelling style.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. The first time you hear somebody mention O. Henry you might think they're sighing about some guy named Henry (Oh, Henry!), rather than referring to a particular person.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Veldt Introduction

Here's a short version of history:

Person A: I've invented something new.
Person B: Oh, no! We're all going to die!

Seriously, the history of new technology is a history of people freaking out. The printing press, radio, atomic bombs, Google-as soon as you invent one of those, people are going to-you guessed it-freak out.

And they're not totally wrong to be upset. New technology can completely change people's lives (though it doesn't always kill us). Think about it: once you have radio, you don't have to go out to see a concert to hear music; and you can get the news without waiting for tomorrow's newspaper. And once you have the Internet, you can spend hours looking at LOLcats in the comfort of your own home. No need to go hunting nearby alleys for strays.

That's Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" in a nutshell: it's the story of a couple of kids who have an awesome new tech toy-a virtual reality room, like the holodeck on Star Trek. (Be prepared-we're going to talk about Star Trek a bunch.) And these crazy kids use this new technology to get rid of their parents.

Ray Bradbury calls this toy "the nursery" in the story, but in real life, he had another name for it: "television." In the 1950s, when Bradbury wrote this story, television was kind of like the iPad-everyone wanted it. But it was also like heavy metal music in the 1980s-people were worried what it was going to do to the kids.

But the 1950s in America is about more than TVs; it's about vacuum cleaners and new refrigerators and dishwashers. If you have an afternoon, watch some 1950s appliance ads on YouTube and see how companies marketed new and better stuff to make our lives easier and more convenient. So "The Veldt" isn't just about TV and kids; it's about how we loved to buy handy gadgets without worrying about what they might do to our lives.

Of course, we still love to by handy gadgets, but we're a little more worried about their consequences these days. Smart phones, iPads, iPods, Nintendo DSs. All these things are awesome, sure. But they've got their faults, too, as anyone who's tried to text and drive might know.

Bradbury published "The Veldt" in his short story collection The Illustrated Man in 1951, and it has been in print ever since. But it first appeared in 1950 in the Saturday Evening Post, which was a very respectable magazine, not like the science fiction pulps. It didn't, for example, have aliens stealing naked Earthwomen, like those other science fiction magazines. It had Norman Rockwell covers about how America was supposed to be. (Just check out the cover of the issue in which Bradbury's story was featured.)

But the thing is, "The Veldt" is not at all about how America was supposed to be. It's about how bad America could be-that is, if we let our gadgets take over our lives. So consider this one a warning to all you parents out there: don't let your kids watch too much TV. They just might try to feed you to virtual lions. And no, we're not joking.

What is The Veldt About and Why Should I Care?

If you're reading this on the Internet, you're using technology that no one used in the 1950s. (If you're not reading this on the Internet... are you having it beamed directly into your brain? That's probably how we'll get our news one day.) And if Bradbury from the 1950s could've seen you read this, while staring at your fancy computer screen, well, who knows how he would've freaked out about it.

Because new technology can often be scary. It can promise to make your life easier and better, but it might come with hidden costs, too. That's what "The Veldt" is all about: new technology and its hidden costs. And this worry isn't something that we left behind in the '50s; just a couple years ago someone (smart) published an article called "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". We want to say no because we're major Googlers ourselves, but new technology can change the way you think and even remember info. Our brains don't have to work as hard, because with things like GPS, distances and directions are judged for us. That function is no longer required of our minds.

And what about beauty? Now that we have these new-fangled typewriter things, no one learns penmanship anymore. Which is fine on the one hand, because your handwriting can be hard to read. But your handwriting could also be beautiful and personal. Sure, we have some cute fonts now, but without handwriting, we'd never have calligraphy like this.

We're not gonna lie. The Internet is awesome. And with sites like Facebook, we're given opportunities to express our individuality in ways we never had before. Or is it that with sites like Facebook, our individuality is forced into tiny boxes on a screen that make us all the same? Here's the thing: the Internet goes both ways. It's good, and bad, and everywhere in between, just like every other gadget that's come along.

We may look at this story and think that Bradbury is worrying over nothing. (TV isn't that bad.) Or we might read "The Veldt" and find it horrifyingly familiar. (What does Google diabolically have planned for us next? Internet in our eyeballs?) Sure, Bradbury's story may be very 1950s in some ways, but it's pretty universal, too. So read it. Just don't go into the nursery.

The Veldt Resources

Websites

Oh No, the Holodeck Is Malfunctioning!
TV Tropes does a nice job listing other stories where a virtual reality room acts... strangely.

The Science Fiction Encyclopedia: Virtual Reality
The excellent Science Fiction Encyclopedia discusses the history of virtual reality. You'll be building your own nursery in no time.

Movie or TV Productions

The Illustrated Man (1969)
This movie version is enjoyed by absolutely no one, but it includes a version of "The Veldt," so we had to give it a shout out. (See "Video" for some clips.)

Ray Bradbury Theater, "The Veldt"
This 1985-6 TV show did a version of "The Veldt." Get your own copy, if you're in the mood to be creeped out by murderous kiddos.

Articles and Interviews

Bradbury's Tomorrowland
Bradbury's 1998 interview about urban planning and how he felt about the future. The interview includes this gem of a line about Fahrenheit 451: "I was trying to prevent a future, not predict one."

Bradbury's Pulp Roots
A useful article on Ray Bradbury's less literary, more pop-culture roots. And no, it has nothing to do with John Travolta.

Video

The Illustrated Man (1969), Part 3
The Illustrated Man movie includes several stories and a frame story. "The Veldt" begins around part 3 and ends around part 5 on YouTube. Or you could, you know, rent the movie. Either way, you'll want to compare this version to the original, just to see if they stunk it up as much as everyone says.

Audio

Dimension X does "The Veldt" in 1951
This old time radio show did a version very soon after the story was first published. (How do you think Bradbury felt about the radio version?)

X Minus One does "The Veldt" in 1955
Another radio adaptation, this time with a handy dandy script included. Bonus: the ending makes clear that the parents don't die in this version. Fancy that!

Images

The Illustrated Man
Original cover of the book, in all its orange glory.

The Illustrated Man, with Lions
That's a crazy tattoo, man.

Saturday Evening Post Cover: "Take Your Medicine" by George Hughes
The cover of the Saturday Evening Post for Sept 23, 1950, where this story was first published. Note: no aliens or death-rays here. Just good clean wholesome family stuff.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here's a short version of history: Person A: I've invented something new.Person B: Oh, no! We're all going to die! Seriously, the history of new technology is a history of people freaking out. The printing press, radio, atomic bombs, Google-as soon as you invent one of those, people are going to-you guessed it-freak out.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Book Reviews – The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What this handout is about This handout will help you write a book review, a report or essay that offers a critical perspective on a text. It offers a process and suggests some strategies for writing book reviews. What is … Read more

# data[].attributes.headline
Prezi about how to write a literary review 

# data[].attributes.subject
Prezi about how to write a literary review 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Structure of a book review Heading Heading - it's all the bibliographic information about the book: Introduction Remember: Introduction it will inform the reader what the review is going to be about. Tips: - A good introduction will grab the reader's attention so they are

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lamb to Slaughter (H4 short story project) Flashcards | Quizlet

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Start studying Lamb to Slaughter (H4 short story project). Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Start studying The Lottery (H4 short story project). Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Gift of the Magi (H4 short story project)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Start studying The Gift of the Magi (H4 short story project). Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Vocab and Review Questions Learn with flashcards, games, and more - for free.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Audiobook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"The Gift of the Magi" short film (with subtitles)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Lottery (Shirley Jackson) - 1969 Short Film