What do you think when you hear the words American Gothic? If you have been thinking about death, heartbreak, loneliness, then you are right. The period of writing American Gothic was when people decided to write about the other side of the happy ending. heart breaks, funerals and the thought of being alone forever. They tell you the reality of things and what the truth is, how things really happened and that doesn't sugarcoat anything. In “A Rose for Emily” Emily becomes a sad and depressed person who will do something completely unexpected. In “The Lottery” the townspeople have a twisted tradition that happens once a year. These two stories have many comparisons and contrasts regarding theme, foreshadowing, and imagery. Both "The Lottery" and "A Rose for Emily" are American Gothic, focusing more on the dark side of life. For example “Then we noticed that in the second pillow there was an indentation of a head.”(Faulkner 1). This shows fear and death, which is the basis of American Gothic, also the atmosphere is an atmosphere in both stories where it's so slow that, it seems fast, every other line gives you goosebumps. You never know when the next twist will happen. The stories help readers understand the true but sad facts of life, of how death comes to everyone eventually. It focuses on the dark times. In the lottery a good quote that explains this concept of Death and Dark Times is "It's not fair" she said as a stone hit her head Old man Warner was saying "Come on, let's all go" "It's not fair it's not fair" shouted the Mr. Hutchinson, then they were upon her. This shows the cruelty and ignorance of human nature and behavior. So both "A Rose for Emily" and "The Lottery" are excellent examples of American Go... middle of paper ... have many comparisons and contrasts regarding theme, foreshadowing and imagery These stories are more different because in “A Rose for Emily” she feels the need to get married to fit in with the other women in her town, but unlike. “The Lottery” have the norm of killing someone and not I don't want to get along with everyone Analyzing literature is important because it helps to understand society in a physiological and sociological way. These two stories say a lot about society that people follow to fit in and some do it to not fit in. In conclusion, literature has a great reflection on society. Works Cited Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily” The Language of Literature, IL:McDougal Littell, 2002. 517-25.Jackson, Shirley Lotteria and Other Stories. New York: Farrar, 1991.