Theme Of Conflict In The Lottery

There are two different types of conflict. Internal conflict is an emotional challenge that the protagonist in the story deals with. On the other hand, external conflict is an outside force that gives the protagonist an obstacle to overcome. In “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the characters deal with conflict that keeps readers’ attention throughout the story. These two stories compare to one another because the protagonist tries to cope with betrayal and the majority of characters conforming to society; however, they differ because one deals with only external conflict and the other deals with both internal and external conflict. The main idea that is found in both “Young Goodman Brown”

Each year all of the townspeople would stone someone as a tradition. The characters in this story would stone those they loved or had strong relationships with; however, when it came time for the lottery, none of that would matter anymore. While the men were picking papers from the black box, Mrs. Hutchison was talking to Mrs. Delacroix out in the crowd. Surprisingly, when it came time for Mrs. Hutchinson to be stoned, Mrs. Delacroix was the most shocking individual in this story. Jackson wrote, “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands…” (379). In “The Lottery”, it is shocking to see how the characters are friendly one minute and treacherous the next. Both of these stories deal with betrayal and conforming to society. The characters in each story did whatever those around them were doing, whether it was acceptable or

In “Young Goodman Brown”, the protagonist experiences both internal and external conflict; whereas the main source of conflict in this short story is external. This story does not give many details or really focus on what each character is feeling during the course of the lottery. The cause of the conflict is the lottery that takes place each year in this town. When Mrs. Hutchinson is chosen for the lottery, the source of external conflict that she experiences is from her friends and family members betraying her. She does not handle being chosen for the lottery well. In fact, she becomes very upset and is screaming and yelling at the people around her. Shirley Jackson writes, “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. ‘It isn’t fair,’ she said. A stone hit her on the side of her head” (Jackson, 379). Mrs. Hutchinson insists that the decision is not fair. In fact, she even tries to stop the townspeople, but it does no good. Mrs. Hutchinson is betrayed by her family members and friends when they continue with the