Introduction
In this essay, I will write about the similarities and differences of the two short stories “All Summer in a Day” and “The Lottery” because I want to highlight how the have many details that are alike some that are different. Both stories are suspenseful yet depressing, it tends to make you think about how people interact with one another and impact the way we think.
Summaries of Both Novels
“The Lottery” is a brief reading that takes place in a village. Every year a lottery is held and the villagers gather in the town square. In this particular lottery that happened on a clear, bright, sunny summer day, the Hutchinson family won and the townspeople threw stones at Tessie Hutchinson because it is a tradition to sacrifice someone in exchange for good crops.
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It’s always cold and raining, and the sun only comes out for two hours on one day every seven years. Margot is a schoolgirl who moved from planet Earth. She’s depressed because she misses the sun and the other children don’t seem to like her. On the day the sun comes out, the other children lock Margot in a closet so that she can’t see the sun.
Similarities
One of the similarities of “All Summer in a Day” and “The Lottery” is the mistreatment of one of the female characters. In “All Summer in a Day” Margot was locked in a closet by other school children because they didn’t want her to see the sun. In “The Lottery” Tessie had stones thrown at her by the other villagers.
Another thing these two stories have in common is that the conflict remains unsolved. Margot doesn’t get to see the sun, and the lottery is already being planned and prepared for the next victim.
A third similarity is both endings are purposely incomplete. These two stories are left on a cliffhanger; Margot gets let out of the closet, and you don’t know how fatal the throwing of stones at Tessie
The stories, “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, have some similar characteristics and others are different. Keeping a tradition, however, in “The Things they Carried” the main character actually wakes up and changes how he is and becomes more realistic. Unlike “The lottery” where everyone is participating in a murder but not noticing what they are actually doing; to them it is a tradition. The settings are quite the opposite in these stories and also how the characters act. The theme of these stories are the same, however there are other elements that are different in these stories, such as their settings and characters.
Comparing "The Lottery by Shirley Jackson" and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The killer’s plan in the “Tell-Tale Heart” actually works and is able to hide his actions for a long time. While in “The Lottery” the town is peaceful and everyone is going through their daily lives. People seem excited for the lottery and seems that something positive will occur. But in the end for both of these stories bad things happen towards the people in the story. The killer has guilt get to him and he confesses that he is a murder. While in the lottery is actually a dark event that makes whoever wins becomes a sacrifice. The 2 themes both tell the story of death. They are both terrible stories, but tell people important themes. One is that you shouldn’t do something without understanding why you are doing it. Secondly is that guilt will always come back to haunt
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are two very meaningful and fascinating stories. These stories share similarities in symbols and themes but they do not share the same plot which makes it different from one another. Furthermore, “The lottery” was held in New England village where 300 people were living in that village. This event took place every once a year. Besides, the story begins where on one beautiful morning, everyone in that village gathered to celebrate the lottery. The surroundings were such that children were gathering stones while adults were chatting with each other. It was compulsory for every head of family or house to draw a slip of paper out of the box. In addition to that, the family that draws the slip in the black do will have to re draw in order to see who will win the lottery. Therefore, the winner of the lottery will be stoned to death. This is very shocking because in today’s lottery events, the winner will be awarded cash.
This simultaneously relieves some of the suspense regarding the result of the lottery, while also adding even more tension, as the audience still does not know Tessie Hutchinson’s fate.
The kids on Venus were jealous of Margot because she had seen the sun, “And then, of course the biggest crime of all was that she had come here only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun, and the way the sun was, and the sky . . . ” After the Venus children saw the sun they realized Margot was still locked in the closet, “Margot.’ They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They looked at each other, and then looked away . . . They could not meet each other’s glances. Their faces solemn and pale . . .” The Venus children were so jealous that Margot had seen the sun that they locked her in a closet and accused her of lying. The Venus kids were blind to her as a person until the sun came out and went away again. Only then did they remember
The other kids are jealous Margot remembers what the sun is like and they don't so they say she is wrong. The kids are making Margot upset. When all the kids came inside after it started raining again “Their faces were solemn and pale. They looked at their hands and feet, their faces down.” The kids finally realised that Margot was right. They are guilty because Margot was locked in the closet while they were outside having
Characterization is shown in many ways throughout both stories. In “The Lottery”, “the very small children rolled in the dust or clung to the hands of their older brothers or sisters.”
There are two inordinate short stories from history which are “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence. Although both of these stories contain themes that offer stories of luck, both stories approach themes and a false sense of common values. The stories also explore these ideas in very different ways. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” the story depicts values from a family, which is flawed by negative family and relationship values and in the story “The Lottery”, they examine the unjust and family traditional values and practices. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” the story focuses on a young son that wants to help his mother with her unfortunate financial problems, while in “The Lottery” this story begins
“The Lottery” is a satire that is meant to shock and provoke readers with the prospect that societal contentment and tradition can evoke the emersion of illogical and harmful actions. The author, Shirley Jackson, understands that the proper use of symbolism and character archetypes is followed by a more impactful story. “The Lottery” opens with children who are out of school for summer break “[on a clear and sunny… day.” (Jackson, 1948, p. 221). Such an innocuous, familiar scene, might elicit from the reader nostalgic, whimsical memories of childhood play. Appropriately, the children in this story represent the innocent, susceptible future generation of the town. They do not seem to fully fathom the severity of the lottery or the abhorrent nature of the violence associated with the town’s traditions. For this reason, the reader most likely develops an expectation that this story will be a pleasant and optimistic one that takes place on a beautiful sunny day and involves the laughter and tomfoolery of young happy kids.
The short story, All Summer in a Day, written by Ray Bradbury is about a nine year old girl who grew up for four years on planet Earth. All that changed when she fled to Venus where the sun comes out only for two hours every seven years. Her everyday lifestyle is drenched in rain. The author utilizes many literary techniques and devices to display theme. He crafts his story by creatively using metaphor, imagery, and hyperbole. Although many themes can be derived from this story, one in particular stands out: Bullying often occur when others are considered different.
“All Summer In A Day” by Ray Bradbury is a fiction short story about a girl named Margot that wants to see the sun again.In the beginning,a boy name William decides to the make everyone put Margot in a closet and lock it-without the other kids trying to stop him.Soon, they realized that they left Margot in the closet when the sunshine came out and for 2-3 hours later it disappeared.They where,mean and selfish to her because William thought that she was lying about the sun that how she remembered it so,he decided to put her in a closet and everyone joined in beside someone saying no and stick up for her.Finally,after they realized what they did to Margot they felt terrible so they went to the closet and let her out.Throughout the story the kids were mean and selfish little brats.
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the author is able to entertain and enlighten the readers. The interesting and profound topic of the story is partly the reason for drawing the readers in; however, the clever characterization of Tessie and the anonymous setting help to make the story more relatable as well as force the readers to feel sympathy for the characters. Although a story about a town devouring a member of its community is horrifying, there is a large meaning. Jackson effectively uses “The Lottery” to warn the readers of the dangers of the group. Shirley Jackson describes the characters in “The Lottery” in a way that readers can relate to each of them in some way, yet she makes one character stand out from the start of the story.
In the stories of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, both authors deliver the dangers of blindly following tradition that can lead to death, fear and no advancement in society. In “The Lottery” their tradition is to kill a person that is randomly chosen by using a lottery. To compare, in “The Hunger Games” children are also picked out of a lottery from each district and if they are chosen, they need to fight against each other to death. Both stories share a tradition of cruel and murderous behavior but they have a slight difference in tradition.
“The Lottery” is a story which shows the complexity and capability of human behavior. Something immoral, like stoning a person to death once a year, is a normal occurrence. The main character, Tessie Hutchinson, is the victim of the lottery. Tessie is a character with a number of seemingly good characteristics, yet her surrounding culture rejects these characteristics. The majority of the people in the village has opposite attitudes and beliefs in comparison to Tessie’s. These attitudes and beliefs reflect her personal desires which quickly struggle against the culture’s expectations. Tessie is unlike the other villagers; she is initially indifferent to the lottery indicating her desires are unrelated to the lottery. Upon winning the lottery, Tessie changes and her personal desires to survive and reject the lottery emerge in her selfishness and outspoken personality. These struggles against the village’s expectations are shown through the culture’s emphasis on tradition and small town ties.