Similarities Between The Lottery And The Rocking Horse Winner

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The Lottery and The Rocking Horse Winner both share a common link. In the Lottery Tessie Hutchinson is sacrificed according to an ancient tradition to ensure an abundant harvest. In The Rocking Horse Winner, young Paul sacrificed his energy to secure capital gain for his family, a pursuit which eventually results in his death. Both Tessie Hutchinson and Paul were sacrificed; one was an unwilling subject while the other was acting as a martyr for his family’s financial security. In exploring these stories we can detect the similarities in addition to viable metaphoric, historical, and plausible explanations that are reflected in modern society.
In June of 1948 Shirley Jackson had an epiphany while thinking about the book her …show more content…

Initially Tessie’s husband drew the paper with the dot, however Tessie protested and the Hutchinson’s drew again. This time Tessie won this ill-fated lottery, she was now marked; her immediate family and friends readily turned on her. The ancient adage, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson, 1948) is deeply ingrained in the reasoning of the villagers. The shabby black box represented their need to cling to their ignorance and reverence to an ancient nature god. Tessie Hutchinson’s murder and the lives of those before her demonstrate society’s blind acceptance to traditions without any plausible explanation; thereby, resulting in the persecution of innocent people for preposterous reasons and …show more content…

In modern society there are organizations, businesses, and religious institutes (People’s Temple, Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses) whose statutes require sacrifice on behalf of their members. Sacrifice has been sacred to God and is mentioned many times in the Old and New Testaments. These sacrifices were a substitutionary act, a harbinger of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ as redemption for human sin (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9: 11-18; John 19:30). The sacrifices set forth by God have been and are righteous by nature; whereas, those by humans and the denizens of darkness are self-serving. Sacrifice in itself is not evil, but rather the intention of the one(s) making the sacrifice determines this, in addition to that which is subject for sacrifice; however, human sacrifice is never an option for it is an abomination in the eyes of God (Deuteronomy 12:30, 31; Jeremiah 19:4-6, 32:35; Psalms

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