Comparing The Lottery And The Book Thief

859 Words2 Pages

Former President John F. Kennedy once said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” The history of mankind contains numerous leaders and guiding principles that carry beliefs contrary to those of our natural law yet still gather an extreme following of individuals. The question is why. Why do people leave their good moral at the door in order to follow the masses? Risk their individuality, freedom, and personality to appeal to others. “The Lottery” and The Book Thief both explore the concept of conformity as it pertains to the individual and how far away one is willing to stray from the path of moral freedom to bend to the will of others. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson depicts small town gathering for their annual lottery …show more content…

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak redefines death and his perspective of the human world by following Liesel Meminger, a young German girl who loses her father, brother, and mother and has to rebuild herself in Molching of Nazi, Germany. The Book Thief exposes the measures taken to spark early approval of Hitler in the young children of Germany and mirrors methods some use today to mold a child into what is desired or expected. Though these stories were written with contrasting purposes in mind, “The Lottery” and The Book Thief both showcase the human habit to blindly follow traditions or leaders and the early corruption of young minds that sparks lifelong …show more content…

Jackson’s story is laced with insight referring to humankind’s inclination to revere tradition, despite one’s best instincts, because of the history it holds together. Jackson portrays an example of such when she writes “The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions” (Jackson 3). Through this line, the reader uncovers that the people of the town were only going through the motions of the lottery. Showing that for the past however many years, the citizens of the town have not even been reflecting on the purpose of their tradition, but rather halfheartedly participating like a child sitting through a long political broadcast. Should that not be a sign flashing in bright lights that their beloved tradition was morally wrong? The people’s disengagement with the lottery serves as a clue to readers that they do not understand, in their hearts, what they are doing; some could even argue that perhaps they have put up a wall in order to prevent the truth from breaking to the surface. Similarly, Jackson emphasizes the length of time the lottery has claimed the lives of the townspeople when Old Man Warner says, “There’s always been a lottery,” (4). In this line Old Man Warner rebukes the other towns decisions to quit the lottery by suggesting that the lotteries age is a valid enough reason to

Show More
Related

  • Self-Discovery In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

    113 Words  | 1 Pages

    Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief depicts the life of a certain young German girl named Liesel Meminger during World War II. Her story was told through the eyes of Death, who narrates both the blessings and devastation that occurred during that era. Liesel experiences living with her new foster parents and come across a boy named Rudy Steider who will later on become her best friend. As the story unfolds, Liesel gradually discovers the horrifying truth behind the Nazi regime as her foster parents take refuge of a Jewish man. Despite being in the midst of destruction and recently coping from her traumatic background, she undertakes on a journey of self-discovery and

    Read More

  • The Book Thief Sparknotes

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the narrator is Death, who shows itself as sympathetic and sensitive towards the suffering of the world and the cruel human nature, through its eyes, we can get to know the heartbreaking story of Liesel Meminger an ordinary, but very lucky nine-year old German girl; living in the midst of World War II in Germany. In this book the author provides a different insight and observation about humanity during this time period from a German view and not an Allied perspective, as we are used to.

    Read More

  • Conformity in Society Exposed in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Lottery, year after year, even since Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was a child, the same ritual has gone on. It is as if the community never learns from its previous mistakes. As long as no one in the town speaks up about such a twisted yearly event, nothing is ever going to change. If Martin Luther King or Malcolm X wouldn’t have raised their voices against the prejudice that they had experienced their entire lives, we might still be living in a segregated world, which was once thought to be “okay.” This is similar to The Lottery, in which the townspeople are brainwashed into believing that this ritual is normal. For example, Old Man Warner is outraged when he hears that the north village might give up the lottery, calling...

    Read More

  • Irony In The Book Thief

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger, an orphaned little girl living in Nazi Germany, evolves partly through her numerous literary thefts. At her younger brother’s gravesite, she steals her first book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook, which teaches her not only the method to physically bury her brother, but also lets her emotionally bury him and move on. The theft of her next book, The Shoulder Shrug, from a book burning marks the start of Liesel’s awareness and resistance to the Nazi regime. As a story with a Jewish protagonist “who [is] tired of letting life pass him by – what he refer[s] to as the shrugging of the shoulders to the problems and pleasures of a person’s time on earth,” this novel prepares her both for resisting the

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Shooting An Elephant And The Lottery

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Lottery” focuses on society by tradition. In “The Lottery,” the townspeople participate in the lottery because it is a tradition and they have done it their whole lives. Tradition played a role in this essay by stating, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (Jackson par. 5). They have been doing this tradition since the town has been built. People voice their own opinion on how they should get rid of the lottery by saying, “Some places have already quit lotteries.” Mrs. Adams said (Jackson web). They start having the lottery more than once a year and the people are altered by the rest of the town into keeping the tradition. Everyone in “The Lottery” is pressured by society to do the opposite of what they feel is honestly

    Read More

  • analysis the lottery

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shirley Jackson wrote many books in her life, but she was well known by people for her story “The Lottery” (Hicks). “The Lottery” was published on June 28, 1948, in the New Yorker magazine (Schilb). The story sets in the morning of June 27th in a small town. The townspeople gather in the square to conduct their annual tradition, the Lottery. The winner of the lottery will stoned to death by the society. Although there is no main character in the story, the story develops within other important elements. There are some important elements of the story that develop the theme of the story: narrator and its point of view, symbolism, and main conflict. The story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, argues practicing a tradition without understanding the meaning of the practice is meaningless and dangerous.

    Read More

  • Comparing Fahrenheit 451 And The Lottery

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Social Hysteria in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackon's short story The Lottery. Images such as the black box and characters such as Old Man Warner, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Hutchinson display to the reader not only the tenacity with which the townspeople cling to the tradition of the lottery, but also the wavering support of it by others. In just a few pages, Jackson manages to examine the sometimes long forgotten purpose of rituals, as well as the inevitable questioning of the necessity for such customs.

    Read More

  • Theme of the Unexpected in The Lottery

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    What thoughts come to mind when you think of "The Lottery?" Positive thoughts including money, a new home, excitement, and happiness are all associated with the lottery in most cases. However, this is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s short story, "The Lottery." Here, the characters in the story are not gambling for money, instead they are gambling for their life. A shock that surprises the reader as she unveils this horrifying tradition in the village on this beautiful summer day. This gamble for their life is a result of tradition, a tradition that is cruel and inhumane, yet upheld in this town. Shirley Jackson provides the reader’s with a graphic description of violence, cruelty, and inhumane treatment which leads to the unexpected meaning of "The Lottery." Born in San Francisco, Jackson began writing early in her life. She won a poetry prize at age twelve and continued writing through high school. In 1937 she entered Syracuse University, where she published stories in the student literary magazine. After marriage to Stanley Edgar Hyman, a notable literary critic, she continued to write. Her first national publication “My Life with R.H. Macy” was published in The New Republic in 1941but her best-known work is “The Lottery.”(Lit Links or Reagan). Jackson uses characterization and symbolism to portray a story with rising action that surprises the reader with the unexpected odd ritual in the village. While one would expect “The Lottery” to be a positive event, the reader’s are surprised with a ritual that has been around for seventy-seven years , demonstrating how unwilling people are to make changes in their everyday life despite the unjust and cruel treatment that is associated with this tradi...

    Read More

  • Symbolism and Imagery in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    749 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jackson uses the lottery itself to function as an ironic symbol of tradition in the story. In today’s society, a lottery is an event that has positive connotations related to it. A lottery a game that is associated with fun, chance, fun, and expectation. Good things usually result from lotteries especially for those who win. Furthermore, those who don’t win have nothing to lose. Lotteries bring forth a feeling of great expectation of a wonderful outcome. Through out the story, the lottery is projected as a harmless and affable pastime, which is how it is used in today’s society; however, by the end of the story it ends with disaster.

    Read More

  • The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “The Lottery”, Jackson wrote about a special tradition of a small village. June 27th was warm and sunny, and it gave the impression like nothing could possibly go wrong. Everyone knows the lottery as an exciting thing, and everybody wants to win, but this lottery is unlike any other. This lottery was actually the tradition of stoning of an innocent villager; that year it was Tessie Hutchinson. Though the horrific ending was not expected, throughout the story Jackson gave subtle hints that this was not an average lottery. Jackson foreshadowed the death of Tessie Hutchinson with stones, the black box, and the three legged stool; she showed that unquestioning support of tradition can be fatal.

    Read More

  • The Values Of Morality In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, we see the picture of a model town that, like most Southern Baptists, are stuck in their ways. What they refer to as the Lottery is an annual process, occurring on June 27th, in which each head of household will choose a slip of paper out of a box and the “winner,” well, doesn’t really win. In fact, the so called winner of the first round of the lottery wins his whole family a trip to the box for one more turn! The next person, no matter the age, that picks the paper with the mark on it, is stoned by the entire town. It’s preposterous to actually think people would enjoy this yearly ceremony, but they do. Throughout the story we see three different standpoints on this gruesome tradition that is embodied by Old Man Warner, Mr. Summers, and the younger adults and kids. All of the people go along with the tradition and some even look forward to it, however when it happens to them they cry, “It isn’t fair.”

    Read More

  • Literary Elements In The Lottery

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    In "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson fills her story with many literary elements to mask the evil. The story demonstrates how it is in human nature to blindly follow traditions. Even if the people have no idea why they follow.

    Read More

  • Literary Elements in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Would you believe that there was once a village where everyone would partake in a terrible event, but think it was innocent because of how they blindly followed a tradition? The short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson communicates this theme by showing how the villagers participate in a lottery every year. In life, there are people who follow tradition because they have to, or they are used to following without question. The author, Shirley Jackson, was born on December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California. In 1937, Shirley Jackson attended Syracuse University where she began to write short stories.

    Read More

  • Criticism Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    1819 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shirley Jackson’s (1948) “The Lottery” shows the dark side of human nature when exposed to a totalitarian rule. The characters within the text, especially the older, more traditional Old Man Warner, are against changing their dark traditions, because they have been a part of their lifestyle for so long (Jackson, 1948, p.460). The story is meant to be a warning against totalitarianism, as Jackson (1948) wrote it during World War II, when Germany was a totalitarian-led government. The characters’ actions in the story show how evil can take over good people when society enforces a certain way of thinking upon them. Jackson (1948) reflects the dictating rule of Germany during WWII and dons different

    Read More

More about Comparing The Lottery And The Book Thief

Open Document