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The Comparison of Humanity’s Fear in “The Lottery” and “The Most Dangerous Game” Authors create fictional stories which provide explorations and adventures for readers who can immerse themselves into realities that would otherwise be impossible. By doing so, readers can experience a flora of emotions and ideals through these stories; fear being one of them. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” used detailed imagery and the theme of randomness of persecution to reveal humanity’s fear of being different from one another, however in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell the combination usage of diction and imagery and the theme of reason versus instinct exacerbates humanity’s fear of being preyed on much like animals. Despite the opposite themes, …show more content…
“The Most Dangerous Game” has been adapted to radio and film several times. Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916 and passed away on August 8, 1965; she was also an American writer. Over the span of her career, she composed two memoirs, six novels and over 200 short stories, the most popular being “The Lottery,” which was published on June 26th, 1948. “The Lottery” gained her a significant amount of fame and attention when it was published in an issue of the New Yorker. Both authors wrote short stories that were the epitome of people’s …show more content…
He thought he could outsmart the world-renowned hunter, but he failed. In “The Lottery” Tessie follows through with the Lottery until her maiden name is called. She is heard claiming the drawing is not fair, while before Mrs. Adams exclaimed that, “Some places have already quit the lotteries” to which Old man Warner responded stoutly, “Nothing but trouble in that,” (Jackson 4). By including this small section of a young Mrs. Adams bringing up an end to the lottery and the older, more stubborn, Old Man Warner stating it’s no good shows the reader that if Tessie had accepted not to follow beforehand she may have not died (Jackson 4). This adds a certain layer of balefulness that the lottery is not something most look forward
Set against the backdrop of the contemporary American societies, “Charles” and “The lottery” are arguably two of the finest short stories written by Shirley Jackson; one of the most popular and talked about writer of horror/mystery genre in the mid-nineteenth century. The lottery is a descriptive story about a horrific ritual that take place in a small town ,and Charles is a narrative story about the lies of a bad child. Like her other notable works, these two stories effectively showcase her mastery in dramatic irony and candidly uncover the contemporary social reality while still having the several similarities and differences shared in between them based upon the writing style, main theme of the story , and the way how each story concludes.
Though many societies are different from each other in appearance, they have more aspects in common than some may expect. This is very true in the societies in the movie, The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross, and the short story, “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson. The Hunger Games is about the struggle of a young woman who is trying to survive a deadly competition between multiple people drawn and nominated to fight to the death for sport due to a failed revolt against the government. “The Lottery” is a story about how families are picked at random with one member getting stoned to death and how a young woman decides to stand up to her society. Both The Hunger Games and “The Lottery” have many similarities in regards to tradition
...popular. Shirley Jackson succeeded in writing a story that shocked the readers and gave them a new outlook on preserving traditions and imperfections of society. The human sacrifices that occur every year with the lottery show that some traditions are brutal and need to be reconsidered. Some of the symbolism such as the lottery, the black box, and the characters help bring about the theme of the short story. Ultimately, Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery shows just how individuals follow traditions and people in front of them by conforming to society.
We live in a Civilization where mankind has lost its ability to empathize with one another, but rather feed into one’s greed, selfishness, and evilness that mankind has permitted into our lives. The Most Dangerous Game and The Lottery both are stories about what happens when society, stop caring about the rules that governs us, and rather conforms to their own set of rules. These two stories articulate to readers how mankind inherits certain traditions that in the long run disturbs how we convey our surroundings. The Bible speaks about the heart of man in Jeremiah 17:19, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it”, in this verse the leaves no room when it comes to describing what the heart of man is.
Shirley Jackson wrote many books in her life, but she was well known by people for her story “The Lottery” (Hicks). “The Lottery” was published on June 28, 1948, in the New Yorker magazine (Schilb). The story sets in the morning of June 27th in a small town. The townspeople gather in the square to conduct their annual tradition, the Lottery. The winner of the lottery will stoned to death by the society. Although there is no main character in the story, the story develops within other important elements. There are some important elements of the story that develop the theme of the story: narrator and its point of view, symbolism, and main conflict. The story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, argues practicing a tradition without understanding the meaning of the practice is meaningless and dangerous.
We see a very disturbing ending in the Shirley Jackson’s, The Lottery where the reader believes that the lottery in mention is solely a monetary game of chance, like in our lives presently. However,
What thoughts come to mind when you think of "The Lottery?" Positive thoughts including money, a new home, excitement, and happiness are all associated with the lottery in most cases. However, this is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s short story, "The Lottery." Here, the characters in the story are not gambling for money, instead they are gambling for their life. A shock that surprises the reader as she unveils this horrifying tradition in the village on this beautiful summer day. This gamble for their life is a result of tradition, a tradition that is cruel and inhumane, yet upheld in this town. Shirley Jackson provides the reader’s with a graphic description of violence, cruelty, and inhumane treatment which leads to the unexpected meaning of "The Lottery." Born in San Francisco, Jackson began writing early in her life. She won a poetry prize at age twelve and continued writing through high school. In 1937 she entered Syracuse University, where she published stories in the student literary magazine. After marriage to Stanley Edgar Hyman, a notable literary critic, she continued to write. Her first national publication “My Life with R.H. Macy” was published in The New Republic in 1941but her best-known work is “The Lottery.”(Lit Links or Reagan). Jackson uses characterization and symbolism to portray a story with rising action that surprises the reader with the unexpected odd ritual in the village. While one would expect “The Lottery” to be a positive event, the reader’s are surprised with a ritual that has been around for seventy-seven years , demonstrating how unwilling people are to make changes in their everyday life despite the unjust and cruel treatment that is associated with this tradi...
Although people can fear an outcome of telling the truth or standing up for what they believe is right, being a bystander in a poor situation doesn’t exempt someone from innocence. Whether it involves a murder or telling the truth, if someone knows it is wrong and does nothing to take part in what’s going on they are no better than the ones involved in the conflict. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, both stories involve bystanders. A bystander is not innocent when they do nothing about the problem going on around them.
There are many different points of view about human behaviors. Through specific characters mentioned in Fahrenheit 451, “A Very Old Man Enormous Wings”, and “The Lottery”, individual attitudes are exaggerated to the point that their evil motivations behind their behaviors are obvious. Everyday humans attempt to attach the connotation of good to humanity, but it’s just because humans want to look past the fact that we are realistically not good. It is very difficult for us to reflect on our own behaviors. Even though people try to avoid admitting it, we always try to be the best in whatever we do. We naturally make our own survivals the best we can make it. Harming others knowingly and enjoying it is a hallmark of being evil. Good is not only
Can you imagine a world where population control is resolved with cruel systems and your life's on the line annually? Well if not, there is an exact scenario of this situation in “The Lottery” which is the original tale by Shirley Jackson to enlighten you. The other story that's written in the same manner is “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and it is a novel that's based on “The Lottery”. “The Lottery” is a story about a village who holds an event every 27th of June where its mandatory for every person to be present so a drawing can take place. The town folks are sorted by family and the family chosen has each member draw a paper out of a box. The member that draws a paper with a black dot is stoned to death by the whole village including
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Gioia, Dana and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 390-396.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1986. 862-868
To follow through I will discuss the importance Jackson placed on the protagonist Tessie Hutchinson. She was seen as someone who is consumed by hypocrisy and weakness. Mrs. Hutchinson is aware that the lottery is wrong but does nothing to eradicate it or stand on her own. To her demise the lottery’s lesson is that the more artificial you are, the more of a target you become. Sadly the lottery became the death of Mrs. Hutchinson, when she was chosen as the winner of the annual event.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. Gardner, Janet E.; Lawn, Beverly; Ridl, Jack; Schakel, Pepter. 3rd Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 242-249. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 989.