Mark Pedelty said: “Ritual is, therefore, a primary site of contact between self and society, a place where our individual selves are transformed into collective selves.” As Pedelty suggests, rituals create a loss of individualism and a rise of conformity. Pedelty’s idea is clearly displayed with the fictional rituals in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” These two stories’ rituals contain many similarities with each other, but also several differences; additionally, the purpose of each ritual is completely different. The ritual in “The Lottery” has several similarities with the ritual in The Hunger Games. One major similarity was that both rituals relied purely on chance. In “The Lottery,” all the “heads …show more content…
The citizens in “The Lottery” don’t view the lottery as a punishment; instead, the citizens view the lottery as a tradition because the lottery has gone on for so long. In fact, the citizens are so comfortable with the lottery that even children participated in the ritual. The ritual was so common for to the people that a “soft laughter ran through the crowd” shortly before the lottery even began. Because they view the lottery as a tradition, Old Man Warner believed they should continue the lottery because “there's always been a lottery.” Unlike the citizens in “The Lottery,” the people in The Hunger Games interpret the ritual in a negative aspect. These people consider The Hunger Games ritual as a form of “governmental oppression” (Geistfeld). Although the people knew they were being oppressed, they accepted the “power structures that they operate in rather than continually struggle against them” (Geistfeld). Even Katniss describes the atmosphere of the ritual as “an air of grimness” (Collins). Those people with family members drawn consider the ritual to be several “painful weeks” because they will be watching their family member fight for their life. Besides how the people view the ritual, another difference is how many times a person can be entered into the ritual. During “The Lottery,” every family is entered into the lottery a single time. In contrast, people in The Hunger Games can enter the …show more content…
This superstitious belief is evident when Old Man Warner says, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” These beliefs in human sacrifice are similar to the Aztecs who believed that would human sacrifice would “appease the appetites of the gods” (Harner). Dissimilar to “The Lottery,” The Hunger Games were not created for the gods. Instead, the games were created as a form of entertainment for the capitol, and also to “remind the twelve districts how they are completely at the Capitol's mercy.” By forcing kids from the districts, the Capitol is showing how much power they have over all the districts. The Capitol sends this message because it wants makes the districts believe that there is no chance of “surviving another rebellion”(Collins). In conclusion, “The Lottery” ritual was created from superstitious beliefs which is contrary to “The Hunger Games” being created by the Capitol to further maintain their control over the
Shirley Jackson describes the lottery being an annual event where someone gets randomly drawn to win the prize of getting stoned to death, Tradition which no one has ever questioned its purpose or opposed to it. “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson 7). People in “The Lottery” were so accustomed to the tradition that no kind of emotion or feeling was shown at the time of stoning, no matter if it was a family member or a close friend. Their blind acceptance to the lottery made murder become natural that time of the
Toward the finale of the short story, Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery” declares, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the black box, they still remembered to use stones” (873). Many of the residents display no knowledge of the lottery and only participate because of tradition. In fact, only Old Man Warner recollects the authentic purpose of the lottery. He furnishes some insight behind the tradition of the lottery by declaring, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson 871). Old Man Warner reveals the original reason for holding the lottery, but Jackson clearly demonstrates that the original purpose no longer exists. The villagers comprehend the procedure of stoning the victim but nothing else. Nick Crawford articulates in an easy about “The Lottery,” “The most disturbing thing about Tessie Hutchinson’s unexpected demise is its...
“The Lottery” is a short story about an event that takes place every year in a small village of New England. When the author speaks of “the lottery” he is referencing the lottery of death; this is when the stoning of a village member must give up his or her life. The villagers gather at a designated area and perform a customary ritual which has been practiced for many years. The Lottery is a short story about a tradition that the villagers are fully loyal to and represents a behavior or idea that has been passed down from generation to generation, accepting and following a rule no matter how cruel or illogical it is. Friends and family become insignificant the moment it is time to stone the unlucky victim.
rituals that go along with the lottery are fading into the past to be forgotten
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
The plot as a whole in “The Lottery” is filled with ironic twists. The whole idea of a lottery is to win something, and the reader is led to believe that the winner will receive some prize, when in actuality they will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. The villagers act very nonchalant upon arriving at the lottery; which makes it seem as if it is just another uneventful day in a small town. Considering the seriousness of the consequences of the lottery, the villagers do not make a big deal about it. Under the same note it is ironic that many of the original traditions of the lottery, such as the recital and the salute, had long been forgotten. All that the villagers seemed to remember was the ruthless killing of a random person. It also seems strange that they let the equipment for the lottery, the black box, get into such a poor condition.
Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual is no longer a humble sacrifice that serves the purpose of securing the harvest but instead is a ceremony of violence and murder only existing for the pleasure found in this violence.
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.
Every year, the lottery is held, and every year a person is killed. Each villager neglects to acknowledge the unjustness of the lottery and continue to participate because of the tradition it represents in their society. The lottery was a cultural tradition passed down from the very first settlers of the village. It makes up a huge part of the village’s history and culture. The villagers pay recognition to their culture by continuing the tradition of the lottery even though the lottery is not morally right. On page 93 it states, “There was a proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year… There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came to draw from the box…” This quote shows the tribal-like rituals and traditions associated with the lottery. Through the years, some of the rituals of the lottery were lost, but the main elements of the lottery remained the same. The idea behind the lottery was that the ancestors, of the villagers, believed that human sacrifice would bring in good harvest. This led to the development and continuation
With the lottery being an annual ceremony, people have become so immune to the idea of killing off one of their peers, that it does not phase them anymore. For example, Jackson describes the day as being “clear and sunny... with a fresh warmth... with the flowers blossoming profusely,” which are words that people do not typically associate with death (Jackson 304). The lottery is a tradition that is passed down from generation to generation so it is embedded into the characters minds that the lottery is just another part of their town. The lottery “reveals the fragility of the nuclear family… and effectively divides into competing individuals whose survival needs are at odds with one another” (Whittier 353). It makes family members turn on
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.
As Old Man Warner says “There’s always been a lottery”(136). Everyone is so accustomed to the lottery happening every year that it almost doesn't have an affect on him or her until they are the one chosen to be sacrificed. For example, Mrs. Hutchinson was joking with her husband about the dishes before the lottery started. Once her family drew the marked paper, she started to complain about it not being fair. The story ends with her screaming, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”(139) as they begin to stone her. All of a sudden, it was her family, then it was she, and it was all unfair. No one tries to change the tradition all though no one is really forcing him or her to keep it the
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” was quite disturbing to read. It is an very unusual story that has an ending that will have you baffled. You will want to reread certain parts to see if there is anything thing that you could have missed. The title of the short story is also misleading. In most cases the lottery is a good thing. People don’t win punishment and lotteries don’t hurt them. But in this story it does just that. The author did a great job of telling how anyone and everyone can follow tradition blindly. It is dangerous not to have a mind of your own and to just follow the crowd even if you don’t understand on agree on why something is happening.
In the “Lottery” the theme is when you see a flawed system that conveys injustices it’s your responsibility to go against it or try to improve it. No matter it’s power or how long it’s been active, if you believe it’s not right then fight for your beliefs. “The Lottery” shows this theme because in the story Mrs.Hutchinson repeatedly states how unfair her situation is and everyone else just told her or non-verbally showed that was just the way it was. This theme is meant to convey a overall message to the readers to stand up for their beliefs and they showed that in this story what happens when no one willing to do that. In the “Hunger Games” the theme is conveyed in a different way but is very similar with the overall message. The theme is to not follow rules if they are inhumane and go against your morals or faith. Even if the “rules” are tradition because this goes to show traditions aren't always admirable or in the better interest of the people. The theme of “The Hunger Games” is shown within the novel because Katniss does not want to be controlled by the Capital or their brutal rule’s and systems. Eventually, in the story she does follow her own lead and refuses to obey each inhumane demand that the Capital has. The message to the readers are to take control and try to make the world as fair and right as you possibly can. “The Hunger Games” has transformed the “Lottery” by actually writing a scenario where the theme is followed through on and showing what would happen if people were to actually rise up and make a