In Thomas A. Gullason’s article, “The Short Story: Revision and Renewal” he challenges the stereotypes that have been set for the short story genre. Some of his claims are ineffective and some are effective when applied to “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Gullason objects the foundational theories that Edgar Allen Poe has set for short stories. He believes that Poe’s theories are stereotypical and are an “inflexible and predictable view of the short story” (222). He thinks that short stories have suffered from these stereotypes and that a more open approach should be taken when examining short stories. To preserve the genre Gullason writes that people need to, “give it a chance to demonstrate its richly varied and ever-changing substance…show more content… Gullason quotes Ernest Hemingway when he stated, “sometimes the movement is so slow it does not seem to be moving. But there is always a change and always movement” (225). He considers it incorrect to assume that a story will be “static” and unchanging solely because it is in the short story genre. Although it may not be noticeable, there will be a change occurring. Since Gullason considers that there will be movement in a short story, he deems Friedman’s term “static” as “misleading” (224). This claim is effectively shown in “The Lottery”. In the beginning of the story, Tessie arrives at the lottery and does not seem to have any objection to the activity that will be taking place. However, once her husband is the recipient of the paper with the black spot on it, her demeanor changes. She voices her opinion that the lottery is unfair and unjust. Tessie’s character demonstrates Gullason’s point that short stories do not have to be…show more content… Gullason claims, “at first view, because it is so tightly bundled, it does not seem very big. In the process of being unraveled, however, there is far more ‘yarn’ than one ever suspected” (225). Short stories don’t suggest to have much depth due to their length, but as they are examined there is more meaning to them than initially thought. This is effectively shown in “The Lottery”. On the surface, the short story is about a town with a tradition of a lottery that ends in a person being stoned to death. As stated before, the meaning of this short story is how people don’t speak out about injustices until it is affecting them personally and that in order to achieve a change the young people in society need to take
