“It is not that the ancient custom of human sacrifice makes the villagers behave cruelly, but that their thinly veiled cruelty keeps the custom alive.” (Coulthard 2). Towards the end of the story, Jackson says, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” (Jackson 7). Readers can see in this passage that the villagers do not remember the purpose, but they remember the evil action which takes place in this lottery. This is because the villagers have evilness within them and rather act out in evilness. Readers can also see evilness when one of the main characters, Mrs. Delacroix, tells Tessie to be a good sport.
Coulthard shows how something that most likely began as a primitive and ignorant way to ensure prosperity, evolved into a complete need for sanctioned violence and murder. Coulthard offers valid points to support her argument. Coulthard finds that the actions and demeanor of the villagers are evidence of an underlying enjoyment in the killing. Her analysis shows that the villagers mask their anticipation for the killing under false and thinly veiled social gestures. Coulthard points out the contrast between Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie Hutchinson’s social friendship and how quickly the shallow friendship unravels when Tessie is chosen for the sacrifice.
Shirley Jacksons short story The Lottery was published in 1948 displaying the corrupt society and superstitions that transpired at the time. Throughout the story we are mislead as to what the theme is, however once Tessie Hutchinson gets blinded by the rocks, things become transparent. Not saying anything, says a lot is an important theme that was concluded due to the danger of being immune to traditions, and feeling inferior to societies brutal rules. Jackson provided multiple foreshadowed events and irony that intertwined to make the story 's plot more suspenseful. As we progressed the conclusion became clear and we realized the revealing of what "The Lottery" actually is to Jackson.
By calling it “the lottery”, Jackson keeps the audience unaware of the story’s true essence. “The lottery was conducted—as were the square dances, the teenage club, the Halloween program—by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (263). The lottery is equated to dances and teen clubs, and it’s not until we learn the true nature of the lottery that we are shocked about the comparison. These are activities and institutions that seem normal to us, and they are being compared to a brutal ritual. This implies that we need to take a deeper look at our traditions and institutions and determine whether they are actually beneficial or not.
This tradition catalyzes people become violence. There are some quotes to demonstrate an important ideas about how the cruel tradition affects people to act in violence. For instance, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lose the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” This statement shows such a stupid traditional concept has been deeply rooted in local people’s minds. Even though the old ritual forgotten, but using stones was not forgotten. In some ways, it also reveals that the procedure of lottery has been held frequently.
The American people joined the Wisconsin Senator in accusing their friends, neighbors, and family members of having sympathies with the communist party. Although the majority of these accusations were false, they went unquestioned, as Americans allowed themselves to be guided by their fears. Ultimately, this failure to question, destroyed reputations of the accused, and lead to loss of job and, in some cases, life. Likewise, the practice depicted in “The Lottery” was also driven by fear. Except this practice was not driven by a fear of communism, rather, it was driven by a fear of straying from tradition and the change it would bring.
“Any human institution which is allowed to continue unchallenged and unconsidered until it becomes a destructive, rather than a constructive, force in men's lives…” “The Lottery” explicates this in a manner in which you must know the underlying message to understand the concept that is presented to you. Mrs. Jackson has many insightful remarks in her short story “The Lottery” if you are equipped to understand the underlying message. As with most stories you really cannot take “The Lottery” for just face value. You must delve into the story to unravel Mrs. Jackson’s seemly horrific story. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” Mrs. Jackson allegorizes and satires American society, beliefs, tradition, and their innate fear of change through her use of symbolism.
Boo risked his life and even more of his bad reputation to save the children. Law-abiding heroes should be treated with regard and respect not a trial and possible jail sentence. Mr. Ewell's intentions were illegal and what he had done to harm the black community has be... ... middle of paper ... ...n. Boo is a human being as well, not a selfless killing machine. Boo's heroic act should be rewarded and if he prefers the solitude of home, so shall it be. It is evident that Arthur "Boo" Radley is a free innocent man.
Context: This comment can be found in the l Act, where Miller explains the theocratic nature of Salem’s society. In Salem heresy was punishable by prison or death. Just like in Salem, lack of patriotism in the U.S. automatically made people think of communists. When people were being accused with no evidence to back the claim, even the... ... middle of paper ... ...n whether to confess to witchcraft or not. His unwillingness to sign his name to the confession is because of his desire not to dishonor his fellow prisoners’ decisions to stand firm.
The author of “The Lottery” wrote this story “to shock the story’s readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson 211). This story reflects human behavior in society to show how although rules, laws or traditions do not make sense, people follow them. Throughout the story the three main symbols of how people blindly follow senseless traditions were the lottery itself, the color black, and the hesitation that people had towards the prize. The lottery in the story was the game in which the prize was death. In reality this lottery symbolized the game of life, and how our behavior as human beings influences our choices in life and therefore our destiny.