Mark Pedelty said: “Ritual is, therefore, a primary site of contact between self and society, a place where our individual selves are transformed into collective selves.” As Pedelty suggests, rituals create a loss of individualism and a rise of conformity. Pedelty’s idea is clearly displayed with the fictional rituals in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” These two stories’ rituals contain many similarities with each other, but also several differences; additionally, the purpose of each ritual is completely different. The ritual in “The Lottery” has several similarities with the ritual in The Hunger Games. One major similarity was that both rituals relied purely on chance. In “The Lottery,” all the “heads …show more content…
The citizens in “The Lottery” don’t view the lottery as a punishment; instead, the citizens view the lottery as a tradition because the lottery has gone on for so long. In fact, the citizens are so comfortable with the lottery that even children participated in the ritual. The ritual was so common for to the people that a “soft laughter ran through the crowd” shortly before the lottery even began. Because they view the lottery as a tradition, Old Man Warner believed they should continue the lottery because “there's always been a lottery.” Unlike the citizens in “The Lottery,” the people in The Hunger Games interpret the ritual in a negative aspect. These people consider The Hunger Games ritual as a form of “governmental oppression” (Geistfeld). Although the people knew they were being oppressed, they accepted the “power structures that they operate in rather than continually struggle against them” (Geistfeld). Even Katniss describes the atmosphere of the ritual as “an air of grimness” (Collins). Those people with family members drawn consider the ritual to be several “painful weeks” because they will be watching their family member fight for their life. Besides how the people view the ritual, another difference is how many times a person can be entered into the ritual. During “The Lottery,” every family is entered into the lottery a single time. In contrast, people in The Hunger Games can enter the …show more content…
This superstitious belief is evident when Old Man Warner says, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” These beliefs in human sacrifice are similar to the Aztecs who believed that would human sacrifice would “appease the appetites of the gods” (Harner). Dissimilar to “The Lottery,” The Hunger Games were not created for the gods. Instead, the games were created as a form of entertainment for the capitol, and also to “remind the twelve districts how they are completely at the Capitol's mercy.” By forcing kids from the districts, the Capitol is showing how much power they have over all the districts. The Capitol sends this message because it wants makes the districts believe that there is no chance of “surviving another rebellion”(Collins). In conclusion, “The Lottery” ritual was created from superstitious beliefs which is contrary to “The Hunger Games” being created by the Capitol to further maintain their control over the
As Old Man Warner says “There’s always been a lottery”(136). Everyone is so accustomed to the lottery happening every year that it almost doesn't have an affect on him or her until they are the one chosen to be sacrificed. For example, Mrs. Hutchinson was joking with her husband about the dishes before the lottery started. Once her family drew the marked paper, she started to complain about it not being fair. The story ends with her screaming, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”(139) as they begin to stone her. All of a sudden, it was her family, then it was she, and it was all unfair. No one tries to change the tradition all though no one is really forcing him or her to keep it the
Shirley Jackson describes the lottery being an annual event where someone gets randomly drawn to win the prize of getting stoned to death, Tradition which no one has ever questioned its purpose or opposed to it. “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson 7). People in “The Lottery” were so accustomed to the tradition that no kind of emotion or feeling was shown at the time of stoning, no matter if it was a family member or a close friend. Their blind acceptance to the lottery made murder become natural that time of the
rituals that go along with the lottery are fading into the past to be forgotten
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a chilling tale of a harsh ritualistic gathering conducted by people of a small village. The word lottery would typically remind someone of a drawing to win a cash prize. A better comparison to the story would be the lottery used to select troops for the Vietnam War; a lottery of death. Another would be the human sacrifices the Aztecs willingly made long ago.
In the movie, the Hunger Games are a national event in Panem, everyone from the capital and all 13 districts are watching as all the tributes are fighting for their lives. What we get from this, however, is that the Hunger Games are basically a form of entertainment for the people of these districts and the people from these Districts have been watching this go on for 74 years. In the Lottery, we see that the people in this village, although they don’t really see it and barely notice they are finding entertainment by basically killing someone as a group. In the story, Shirley states, “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. “ Come on,” she said. “Hurry up.” Mrs. Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said, gasping for breath, “I can’t run at all. You’ll have to go ahead and I’ll catch up with you.”” (Jackson 630). After reading this quote, I noticed that although the people of the village are oblivious to it, they are finding entertainment with the lottery because they end up killing someone, which is the most fun part to them. They are getting creative, one person picks up a huge stone to chuck at Tessie and other people are just grabbing other forms of stones to ultimately kill Tessie with it. They were even giving little Davey pebbles to chuck at his mom as well, which is really
The contest within The Hunger Games is rooted deep in the film's backstory, in which the nation of Panem was rocked by a civil war. Twelve oppressed Districts rose up against an oppressive Capitol, and the end result of this civil war was a Capitol victory (Hunger Games). In response to the rebellion of its outer provinces, the government of Panem decreed the creation of the Hunger Games, in which each District would send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight in a battle to the death, until only one Victor emerged supreme, who would then, “be showered with glory”, by the Capitol, in order to show the mercy and kindness of their overlords (Hunger Games).... ... middle of paper ...
With the lottery being an annual ceremony, people have become so immune to the idea of killing off one of their peers, that it does not phase them anymore. For example, Jackson describes the day as being “clear and sunny... with a fresh warmth... with the flowers blossoming profusely,” which are words that people do not typically associate with death (Jackson 304). The lottery is a tradition that is passed down from generation to generation so it is embedded into the characters minds that the lottery is just another part of their town. The lottery “reveals the fragility of the nuclear family… and effectively divides into competing individuals whose survival needs are at odds with one another” (Whittier 353). It makes family members turn on
Toward the finale of the short story, Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery” declares, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the black box, they still remembered to use stones” (873). Many of the residents display no knowledge of the lottery and only participate because of tradition. In fact, only Old Man Warner recollects the authentic purpose of the lottery. He furnishes some insight behind the tradition of the lottery by declaring, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson 871). Old Man Warner reveals the original reason for holding the lottery, but Jackson clearly demonstrates that the original purpose no longer exists. The villagers comprehend the procedure of stoning the victim but nothing else. Nick Crawford articulates in an easy about “The Lottery,” “The most disturbing thing about Tessie Hutchinson’s unexpected demise is its...
The first theme in the movie that is similar to that of mythology is sacrifice. “The Hunger Games” begins with the reaping, a ceremony where one male and one female child from each District are chosen to participate in the Hunger Games to fight to the death. The children are chosen as a sacrifice to pay for the past wrong doings of their ancestors. The ritual begins and a video plays to the audience stating “This is a reminder of the rebellion, a price the districts have to pay. Freedom has a cost; we swore as a nation that we would never know this treason again. So it was said that one female and one male child from each district will be chosen each year to fight to the death as tribute. This is how we remember our past, this is how we secure our future.” The requirement of a sacrifice to ensure survival and food will be available for the future is similar to the sacrifices of many ancient cultures; specifically that of Egyptian myth. Osiris was killed and his body torn to shreds by his brother, Set. Everywhere that Osiris’ body was spread; abundant crops grew as a supply from the Gods. This also relates to the myth of Persephone, who was kidnapped by Pluto and brought to the underworld. Each year when Persephone returned to earth the world would flower with abundant growth, when Persephone went back to the underworld, all plant life ceased to exist until she returned again. This shows ...
In the “Lottery” the theme is when you see a flawed system that conveys injustices it’s your responsibility to go against it or try to improve it. No matter it’s power or how long it’s been active, if you believe it’s not right then fight for your beliefs. “The Lottery” shows this theme because in the story Mrs.Hutchinson repeatedly states how unfair her situation is and everyone else just told her or non-verbally showed that was just the way it was. This theme is meant to convey a overall message to the readers to stand up for their beliefs and they showed that in this story what happens when no one willing to do that. In the “Hunger Games” the theme is conveyed in a different way but is very similar with the overall message. The theme is to not follow rules if they are inhumane and go against your morals or faith. Even if the “rules” are tradition because this goes to show traditions aren't always admirable or in the better interest of the people. The theme of “The Hunger Games” is shown within the novel because Katniss does not want to be controlled by the Capital or their brutal rule’s and systems. Eventually, in the story she does follow her own lead and refuses to obey each inhumane demand that the Capital has. The message to the readers are to take control and try to make the world as fair and right as you possibly can. “The Hunger Games” has transformed the “Lottery” by actually writing a scenario where the theme is followed through on and showing what would happen if people were to actually rise up and make a
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
“The Lottery” was quite disturbing to read. It is an very unusual story that has an ending that will have you baffled. You will want to reread certain parts to see if there is anything thing that you could have missed. The title of the short story is also misleading. In most cases the lottery is a good thing. People don’t win punishment and lotteries don’t hurt them. But in this story it does just that. The author did a great job of telling how anyone and everyone can follow tradition blindly. It is dangerous not to have a mind of your own and to just follow the crowd even if you don’t understand on agree on why something is happening.
Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual is no longer a humble sacrifice that serves the purpose of securing the harvest but instead is a ceremony of violence and murder only existing for the pleasure found in this violence.
In the stories of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, both authors deliver the dangers of blindly following tradition that can lead to death, fear and no advancement in society. In “The Lottery” their tradition is to kill a person that is randomly chosen by using a lottery. To compare, in “The Hunger Games” children are also picked out of a lottery from each district and if they are chosen, they need to fight against each other to death. Both stories share a tradition of cruel and murderous behavior but they have a slight difference in tradition.
In a not-too-distant, some 74 years, into the future the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 13 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games; these children are referred to as tributes (Collins, 2008). The Games are meant to be viewed as entertainment, but every citizen knows their purpose, as brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts. The televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eradicate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. The main character throughout the series is a 16-year-old girl from District 12 named Katniss Everdeen.