The effort to survive and to see another day has always been a problem since the first men walked the Earth. There are many obstacles that make living day-to-day a harsh struggle and many reasons why some fail to meet the expectations of this struggle. Some reasons of why people fail to thrive in life is captured vividly in the three short stories “The Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benét, “How to Build a Fire,” by Jack London, and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The author of each story cunningly drops hints in the text as to why characters and civilizations lead themselves to doom. Their faults leading to their fate lies in their knowledge of hate, ignorance and tradition. To begin, “The Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benét expresses the fall of a civilization rather than a person. The story tells of a boy who travels to post-nuclear war New York City and sees the aftermath of the great burning, which refers to a nuclear bomb or missile. Benét writes, “It was fire falling from the sky and a mist the poisoned” (116). The author is trying to hint that a bomb was dropped. To construct a doomsday bomb, one must need knowledge of hate and of science, which led to the death of most of the world’s civilization. In addition, Benét also hints that this civilization fell because due to knowledge of hate when he writes, “When gods war with gods they use weapons we do not know” (116). The author expresses to the reader that this pass civilization must have had knowledge, for they knew how to use unknown weapons, which are made only for destruction. It was the knowledge of hate that led to majority of the world’s death in the epic story of “The Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benét. Next, the short story “How to Bui... ... middle of paper ... ...ly bring down the entire village in the nightmare world of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The timeless battle for the reward of survival has gone on through out the ages. Unfortunately this battle is not always won due to faults such as knowledge of hate, ignorance and tradition. Some souls will not taste the satisfaction of winning another day to live. These stories seem to relate to the common solider who struggles each day with the knowledge of hate for his opponent, the ignorance of stooping down to the primitive solution of fighting and following the tradition of battle for honor. Like the people and civilizations in these stories, the soldier keeps on fighting hoping for survival. However post nuclear war New York, the traveling man, the lady who was stoned and the common soldier all know some souls will not taste the satisfaction of living another day.
G.K.Chesterton once quoted, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” The novel Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, recounts the struggles of a Canadian soldier through his tedious and terrible experiences fighting for his country against the Germans. Throughout the novel, the protagonist was disgusted by the blood and trauma war brings, however, he knew that it was imperative to kill, or else he would not have survived. In war, it is kill or be killed, someone who is wise will kill to survive and protect his country, as well as avenge his family or comrades.
Often, we find ourselves facing dramatic events in our lives that force us to re-evaluate and redefine ourselves. Such extraordinary circumstances try to crush the heart of the human nature in us. It is at that time, like a carbon under pressure, the humanity in us either shatters apart exposing our primal nature, or transforms into a strong, crystal-clear brilliant of compassion and self sacrifice. The books Night written by Elie Wiesel and Hiroshima written by John Hersey illustrate how the usual lifestyle might un-expectantly change, and how these changes could affect the human within us. Both books display how lives of civilians were interrupted by the World War II, what devastations these people had to undergo, and how the horrific circumstances of war were sometimes able to bring out the best in ordinary people.
Alas Babylon, by Pat frank, is a story that revolves round the actions of a single idea, survival. This is reflected in his choice of the title in itself. It is a phrase that is repeated several times in the book, and brings a sense of uneasiness each time. These words come from a part of the “Revelations of St. John, which describes the decadence of Babylon and the evils that surrounded it at the time (Pg.14-15).” The characters in this book, Mark, and Randy Bragg, began using this phrase from a preacher that they used to listen to as kids. “Randy and Mark never forgot preacher Henry’s thundering, and from it, they borrowed their private synonym for disaster, real or comic, past or future (Pg.15).”
In the book Alas, Babylon, the author, Pat Frank, discusses the condition of the human race. Mainly, his view differs from others because rather than write about the countries in a nuclear war, he writes about people living in the countries that are involved in that war. His discusses these peoples’ progress, both technological and moral, as well as their use of power. These topics make the book as intriguing as it is to read.
A gathering of neighbors on a bright sunny day may seem like a fun, summer picnic; however, Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” proves this setting to be something more malevolent. Jackson builds suspense in the short story by withholding any explanations and does not reveal the true tradition of the lottery until the first stone hits Tessie’s head. She disguises small but certain indicators that something more ominous will happen in the story. It is only after the fact readers understand them as clues of doom. By excluding information until the last possible moment, she builds suspense and creates a shocking, powerful conclusion.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “Babylon Revisited”. Short Fiction: Classic and Contemporary. 6th ed. Ed. Charles Bohner and Lyman Grant. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006.
For the great lesson which history imprints on the mind…is the tragic certainty that all wars gain their ultimate ends, whether great or petty, by the violation of personality, by the destruction of homes, by the paralysis of art and industry and letters…even wars entered on from high motives must rouse greed, cupidity, and blind hatred; that even in defensive warfare a people can defend its rights only by inflicting new wrongs; and that chivalrous no less than self-seeking war entails relentless destruction.
“The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a provoking piece of literature about a town that continues a tradition of stoning, despite not know why the ritual started in the first place. As Jackson sets the scene, the villagers seem ordinary; but seeing that winning the lottery is fatal, the villagers are then viewed as murders by the reader. Disagreeing with the results of the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson is exposed to an external conflict between herself and the town. Annually on June 27th, the villagers gather to participate in the lottery. Every head of household, archetypally male, draws for the fate of their family, but Tessie protests as she receives her prize of a stoning after winning the lottery. Jackson uses different symbols – symbolic characters, symbolic acts, and allegories – to develop a central theme: the
The film ‘I Am Legend’ and the novel ‘Z For Zachariah’ were chosen to be studied together for my connected text assignment. Originally I chose the film because I enjoyed it; I then matched it to a text based on similarities in theme. Both ‘I Am Legend’ and ‘Z For Zachariah’ are based on the same theme; that of man as the cause of the destruction of the human race. While the settings and characters are vastly different; as is the cause of destruction, both the main characters are faced with tough decisions that must be made in order to survive a major man made disaster. Both characters must deal with the enormity of the notion that they could be one of the last humans alive on earth.
There is a major change in the men in this novel. At first, they are excited to join the army in order to help their country. After they see the truth about war, they learn very important assets of life such as death, destruction, and suffering. These emotions are learned in places like training camp, battles, and hospitals. All the men, dead or alive, obtained knowledge on how to deal with death, which is very important to one’s life.
In There Will Come Soft Rains, Bradbury discusses about an exceptionally high technology, virtual house that maintains to perform its each day routine even though its occupants are dead and gone. The account clearly tells of the technological revolution, as well as the atomic warfare, and its outcome on society. The irony of this story bases on the fact that the human beings have been victims of destruction rather than beneficiaries of their own technological inventions. The atomic bombings that occurred in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan are some of the recent memories in 1951. Many readers and critics consider Bradbury’s images of the desolate planet to be haunting and cautionary. The story mentions that machinery has prevailed over humans and in one way or another, it provides an overview that the humankind might have fallen under the authoritative nuclear bomb (Hedin 53). The story proves that Bradbury was a man that was well ahead of...
Why would a civilized and peaceful town would ever suggest the horrifying acts of violence can take place anywhere at anytime and the most ordinary people can commit them. Jackson's fiction is noted for exploring incongruities in everyday life, and “The Lottery”, perhaps her most exemplary work in this respect, examines humanity's capacity for evil within a contemporary, familiar, American setting. Noting that the story’s characters, physical environment, and even its climactic action lacks significant individuating detail, most critics view “The Lottery.” As a modern-day parable or fable, which obliquely addresses a variety of themes, including the dark side of human nature, the danger of ritualized behavior, and the potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the mass will. Shirley Jackson also addresses cruelty by the citizen’s refusal to stand up and oppose “The Lottery.” Violence and cruelty is a major theme in “The Lottery.”
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.
Winning vast amounts of money can make anyone slaphappy, but unfortunately this type of wager won’t be discussed in Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery.” Jackson catches the reader’s attention by describing a typical day by using words such as “blossoming, clear and sunny skies” to attract the reader into believing a calm and hopeful setting which eventually turns dark. In this short story Jackson tells a tale of a sinister and malevolent town in America that conforms to the treacherous acts of murder in order to keep their annual harvest tradition alive. Jackson exposes the monstrosity of people within this society in this chilling tale. She allows the reader’s to ponder and lead them to believe that the lottery is actually a good thing; till she implements foreshadowing, to hint at the dreadfulness behind the lottery and its meaning. My goal in this paper is to discuss why Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a portrayed as a horror story, and the importance the townspeople used to glorify ritualistic killings, to appease to an unseeable force in return of good harvest for the upcoming year.
In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives.