Use of Scapegoats in The Lottery and in Our World

1646 Words4 Pages

An obsession exists in the world today based solely upon the use of scapegoats. According to the dictionary, a scapegoat consists of a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place. Some of the most influential scapegoats consist of Jesus Christ taking suffering for the sins of civilization, the Jewish population being punished for the problems in Germany, and more recently the U.S. citizens who perished in 9/11 being punished for the sins of America. Scapegoats have come in many forms over time and have been very destructive. The usage of scapegoats in our society, such as in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, has proved to be damaging, and an end must be found in order to find peace.

Scapegoats appear abundant in the world today. Political parties and businesses consistently seem to find a person or small group that takes the blame for serious issues. This can cause problems and arguments that sometimes lead to something serious like wars. Scapegoats are just a way of passing blame off of oneself and on to others, just so reputations can remain intact. This sort of attitude shows how lethargic the world has become, where people don’t even take responsibility for their actions. Many people from older generations complain about how all the new generations become too comatose and unwilling to take on their own actions and indiscretions. With attitudes like this, peace will never be found and will inevitably lead to conflict. Something must be done to stem the flow of scapegoats which have been utilized far too much over time.

One of the earliest examples of a scapegoat comes in the story of the life of Jesus Christ. Whether one believes in Christ as a savior, the story of his life in...

... middle of paper ...

...g people to take the blame for others; society needs to rid the world of this ancient ritual sacrifice.

Works Cited

Griffin, Amy A. “Jackson’s The Lottery.” Explicato., Fall 1999. 58.1, 44.

Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 June 2011.

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature and the Writing Process. 9th Ed. McMahan,

Elizabeth, Et al. United States: Pearson Education, Inc., 2011. 137-142. Print.

Kaplan, Thomas Pegelow. “The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the

Holocaust.” Canadian Journal of History. Summer 2007. 42.1, 131-133. Academic

Search Premier. Web. 30 June 2011.

The New King James Version Bible. Ed. London: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Zvagulis, Peter. “Blaming the Scapegoat.” New Presence: The Prague Journal of Central

European Affair., Autumn 2010. 12.3, 7-15. Academic Search Premier. Web.

30 June 2011.

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