Comparing Antigone And The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

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Lottery on Life One way or another, citizens are bound by the the invisible chains of the law. Some people choose to obey it, while others choose to rebel and attempt to break the restrictions placed upon them. Antigone, a girl who rebelled against the king for the unfair law placed upon her, and a selected wife, Tessie Hutchinson, who was stoned to death; both women were upstanders with their individual beliefs, despite the unbreakable law weighing down on them. Both Antigone by Sophocles and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson demonstrate the idea of law and order vs. individual mortality, but they do so in different ways. In Antigone, Antigone decides to break the law in order to give her deceased brother a proper burial. While in The Lottery, …show more content…

The proclamation had your force behind it, but it was mortal force, and I, also a mortal, chose to disregard it. I abide by statutes utter and immutable - unwritten, original, god-given laws,” (pg 29). In this passage, Antigone proclaimed her individual beliefs against the law Creon had declared, and the motive behind her actions were due to the law not aligning with what she saw was right. Antigone chose to disregard the shackling ‘laws’ and instead abide by the god-given laws she believes in. Her firm stand even against the king himself shows her unwavering determination to do what she believes is right, giving her brother a proper burial despite knowing she is breaking the law. In Antigone, Sophocles shows how law and order vs. individual mortality can result in different beliefs from different people, resulting in choices made throughout the story. Antigone believes in breaking the law for her own individual mortality to bury her brother, while Creon believes in the law and order he implemented against Antigone. While Antigone was busy attempting to bury her brother in Antigone, in “The Lottery,” fate chose Tessie Hutchinson to be this year's sacrifice, resulting in her being stoned to death by her

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