THIS IS NOT MY ESSAY. I AM ONLY CHECKING ON MY OWN DISCRETION
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.
Jackson, through her story “The Lottery”, delivers the inhumane tradition of throwing stones
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But in this movie, a person in charge picks a girl and a boy between the ages of twelve and eighteen out of a lottery from each district to represent their district and fight to death. The children, who are chosen, are trained for a week and then sent to and outdoor arena. In the movie, the capitol shows a video explaining the tradition, the rules of the game and how it must be followed no matter what. The characters in this movie have to orient themselves in order to stay safe from the capitol; they also need to follow all the rules provided in order to live. In the story, Prim Everdeen was chosen as of the children to represent the district but her sister Katniss Everdeen volunteered instead to save her sister. After the children are chosen, they are placed in an arena that is controlled by the people who invented the game with advanced technology. The game is being broadcasted all over the world as a reality show, showing the kids of each district killing each other and how they live. The children were almost treated like animals, they were out in a forest setting that is made with the technology, and having to survive off the environment they were given. They were rewarded with food or survival kit each time they kill each other. This portrays exploiting their tradition as entertainment and not seeing the cruelty of
Science fiction writers create a particular setting not only to entertain readers but to give clues on lessons they believe human beings are struggling to understand. In both books, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are introduced as the main characters to project the criticisms made by the author. Susan Collins creates a Dystopian society ruled by the Capital. Different areas of their country, named Panem, are separated into different districts. Two kids from each of the twelve districts are chosen at random to fight in an arena until 1 tribute is left, this is called The Hunger Games Both Peeta and Katniss fight together during the hunger games as a team from District 12. Between the two books, Collins portrays the idea that humans tend to be disrespectful and insulting, depending on another's wealth and/or authority and power. Both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire connect with readers but also indicated the problem with certain human behaviors that most people don't notice or fail to
Compare and Contrast! Well, you use it on a daily right? The stories “The Lottery” and “The Landlady” are two stories that you can compare and contrast. Some examples of comparisons are that both of the stories use violence, and that they both end with a plot twist no one was expecting. One example of a contrast in both of these stories is that they use their imagery differently. How are these stories alike and how are they different?
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a chilling tale of a harsh ritualistic gathering conducted by people of a small village. The word lottery would typically remind someone of a drawing to win a cash prize. A better comparison to the story would be the lottery used to select troops for the Vietnam War; a lottery of death. Another would be the human sacrifices the Aztecs willingly made long ago.
When involved with a near death experience humans will use any and all survival instincts, they know in order to prevent their death with all their might. The closer to death someone may come would mean the more they 'll strive to stay alive because ultimately no one wants to die, even if that means killing another person in order to do so. Although many people would deny this claim, I find this to be very true in my opinion because if you 're put into a situation where it’s either you have to die versus someone else dying; you obviously wouldn 't want to be the person who dies. Death is a very scary thing that can happen to a person and although everyone will ultimately meet their demise, it 's even harder to have someone
Though there are some noticeable differences between Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, however the similarities in the two stories are clear. The themes of both short stories are centered on tradition and the sacrifice of one individual for the good all. In the “The Lottery” someone is stoned to death in order for the village to be prosper. While in the “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” the cities happiness solely depends on the suffering of a child whom has done nothing wrong. The point that both authors are trying to convey to the audience is; at what point do we as a society begin to question a way of doing things, question a tradition that has no real truth or reason behind
War as seen through the eyes of Ambrose Bierce in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge depicts it as truly gritty. The author successfully sends a message of how death is a part of war, and it is not as noble or glorious as one would think it is. Due to popular media, we have this attitude that the protagonist is going to go down in a blaze of glory, and while it may be true for some, it is not like that for everyone. War is rough, dark, and gritty but no one ever wants to talk about those parts of war because it would ruin the fantasy of it.
In both books they share some traits, even though they may not look anything alike they are. both of these novels are dystopian novels and many characters share similarity’s.
In “The Lottery” the author uses many different types of themes to inspire the reader to feel certain emotions. Themes such as the perils of blindly sticking to outdated traditions. Traditions such as sacrificial murder in which some ancient societies believed that “Life brings death, and death recycles life” (Griffin); this shows how some readers could accept the actions depicted in this story. Yet another way of looking at it and finding a way to accept it is that it’s been said that capital punishment today is a form of ritualistic killing. But other readers may just see it as cold blooded murder in which they may be appalled that some societies could still do this in 1948 when this story was written.
“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.
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.”
“First, individual rights cannot be sacrificed for the sake of the general good.” (Liberalism and Its Critics). The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross, is about a society where children are randomly chosen every year to fight to the death as punishment for a past rebellion. “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, is about a society where a villager is annually chosen at random to be stoned to death by the rest of the village as a sacrifice to ensure a good harvest. While these stories are similar, they also differ in various ways. The Hunger Games and “The Lottery” have contrasting protagonists and tradition, but they have a similar selection process.
“ The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, shows the corruption in a village whose people treat life with insignificance. Through the use of literary devices, Jackson portrays how practices in traditions can be barbaric;ultimately, resulting in persecution.
In a not-too-distant, some 74 years, into the future the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 13 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games; these children are referred to as tributes (Collins, 2008). The Games are meant to be viewed as entertainment, but every citizen knows their purpose, as brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts. The televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eradicate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. The main character throughout the series is a 16-year-old girl from District 12 named Katniss Everdeen.
Set in 1948 and published in The New Yorker, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson describes a village ritual of sacrifice. Contrary to the positive feeling associated with the word “lottery,” the story strikes fear into the readers’ hearts as the winner is stoned to death. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” uses symbolism and genre conventions of a classic dystopian story to show the different ways in which human cruelty can occur.
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.