The Lottery and Other Stories Lesson Plan

Analyze Miss Styles’ relationship with Robbie.

Students should consider both Miss Styles’ work relationship and personal relationship with Robbie. How do we see power imbalances between these two characters? For example, Robbie is the boss, gets all the credit, has his name on the agency, et cetera - but Miss Styles is always fixing his messes and solving problems he created. Miss Styles even suspects he might cause problems on purpose (with the minister, for example). Take note of how Robbie treats all of the women who work for him. How can we see “Elizabeth” as a commentary on abuse of power in the workplace?

In addition, students should unpack the ways in which...