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
Several generations have gone through some type of an unfair law that they had to obey, for example, in past generations African Americans were enslaved, but more presently the lack of rights the LGBT members have with marriage. This can relate to the stories “Antigone” and “The Lottery” because the characters in each story went through unfair tragedies. The laws in each of these stories are different, but actually very similar as shown by the end result.
Comparing "The Lottery by Shirley Jackson" and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.
In Sophocles’ Antigone, the most prominent theme is the concept of divine law versus human law. The play opens with the debate between the sisters Antigone and Ismene concerning which law comes first- the devout obligations of citizens, or civic duty. Antigone requests for Ismene to assist her in burying their brother Polyneices, though the new king Creon, has prohibited burial on pain of death. It can be argued that Creon’s edict, which deprived Polyneices of his funeral rites, is understandable. The young man had been killed perpetrating the most atrocious crime of which a citizen could be guilty, and Creon, as the responsible head of state, naturally supposed that exemplary punishment was the culprit’s right...
It is Antigone's morals, which drive her to betray the laws of man, in order to honor the laws of God. Knowing and comprehending the consequences of defying Creon's ruling do not restrain the intensity of Antigone's self will, yet it feeds her hunger to achieve her principles. Losing sight of her future, Antigone allows her stubbornness to consume her life, taking with it, the prospect of marriage, motherhood and friendship. As the story continues, we find that Antigone focuses more on the need to establish her human ethics in spite of Creon, rather than proving the incorrectness of man defying god's laws.
In the beginning of Antigone, we see Antigone struggling with the conflicting expectations between divine law and man’s law. The problem throughout the play is Antigone is a believer in divine law while Creon is a believer in man’s law. In the first scene, Antigone tells her sister that she will defy Creon’s law and bury her brother. Antigone says, “He has no right to keep me from my own” (Sophocles 1008). She believes in divine law even if it means breaking man’s law. Creon commanded no one to bury her brother. Antigone knows it is not the right choice according to divine law and she should be able to bury her own brother, but Creon believes no one should break the law he has put before everyone. Ismene replies, “ The law is strong, we must give in to the law, in this thing and in worse. I bet the dead to forgive me, but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority” (Sophocles 1009). Antigone ...
In the play Antigone, Creon, king of Thebes faces a harsh conflict with himself, involving the values of family and religion verse the civic responsibility he must maintain for the city of Thebes that comes with being the new king. In theory no decision Creon makes is going to be the rite one. Although both Antigone and Creon have justified reasons for believing in there own laws only one can be upheld by the play and how Sophocles interoperates the play himself. Creon must decide whether to punish Antigone, a princess, daughter of king Oedipus, or fail at enforcing his own law and look weak in front of the citizens of Thebes as their new leader. The law stated that anybody who touched the corpse of Polyneices, a prince, and son of Oedipus would be stoned in the town square.
This is the Crux of the theme, the conflict between the law of King Creon, and the law of the gods. In fact, according to Greek belief, Creon would have been ordained by the gods to be king, and thus, should not his law be their law as well? This is the hurdle that Antigone has to face; should she abide by the law of Creon and leave her brother to rot, under penalty of death? Or should she disregard Creon's edict, follow the law of the gods and bury her brother? Creon is a brother to Jocasta, and thus next in line to become king after Etocles is killed in battle. The king is believed to be the chosen of the gods and to rule in their stead. Why then would the king attempt to punish Polyneices after death and so blatantly violate the rules of the gods? However, Creon is the king, and the penalty for disobeying this law of his is very real and very brutal, death.
After burying her brother, Antigone is caught, and is seems that the state is more powerful than the gods for a time. “And yet you dared defy the law.” (208) Creon thinks that his law is all-powerful and ...
Antigone firmly believed that Divine law was far more superior to Civil Law in all respects. To her, the gods determined her fate completely. Obeying the gods was more crucial to obeying the government. "I know I am pleasing those I should please most." (Line 103) She chose to bury her brother Polynieces, though she knew that in doing so she would face her own certain death because King Creon forbid it. According to the Divine law, the dead need to have a proper burial in order to make the journey to the underworld. Antigone would not let her brother go without it. Antigone said of Creon, "It is not for him to keep me from my own." (Line 54) Antigone is proud of her acti...
The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a community that has a yearly lottery pull. The short story is set in a small town that is seemingly normal at first. Every year the town has a lottery pull, in which one person is chosen at random, to be stoned to death by all of their fellow townsmen. The lottery is a tradition that was started many years ago, and is kept alive by the current residents. By using symbolism, irony, and setting Jackson shows the true darkness within the entirety of the human race.
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 the 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. She was famous for the short story, “The Lottery,” and her best seller novel, “The Haunting of Hill House”. Shirley Jackson was famous for writing in a supernatural genre. Later on, she married a Jewish man and moved into a conservative neighborhood. She died on December 14, 1916 in North Bennington, Vermont. “The Lottery” is a profoundly ironic story where the winners really lose. The village has its own unique lottery. The winner of the game has a card with a black dot. This means the surrounding villager will stone them to death! Shirley Jackson develops her theme of the danger of blindly following tradition in her short story, "The Lottery" through the use of symbolism, mood, and irony.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about an annual lottery draw in a small town. The story sets place in a small town in New England. Every year a lottery is held, in which one person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been practiced for over seventy years by the townspeople. By using symbolism, Jackson uses names, objects, and the setting to conceal the true meaning and intention of the lottery.
The constraint of fate was not a fear or problem for Antigone, and she acted with her own set guidelines and rules. Antigone is a character with incredible self-determination, which is greatly seen in her actions throughout the play. Antigone is able to recognize her fate when she decides to act upon her self-determination, and bury her brother. When Creon is informed that Antigone has gone against his orders and buried her brother, he is furious. Creon decides Antigone’s fate for her when he sends her to her death. However, Antigone bravely states to Creon, “I knew that I must die–how could I not? / even without your edict. If I die / before my time, I say it is a gain” (460-462). This statement truly exemplifies Antigone’s recognition of her fate due to her actions. Antigone is stating that she knew of her tragic fate of death, and accepts that this is her destiny. The will of the gods is more powerful than Antigone’s actions, and she knows that she cannot do anything to change this. Therefore, Antigone decides to act on her free will by burying her brother. She knows that this action will result in a penalty of death, but she also can recognize that she’s destined to death by fate. Antigone’s self-determination and recognition of fate drive her actions and ending of a tragic
So not through fear of any mans’ proud sprit would I be likely to neglect these laws and draw on myself the gods’ sure punishment. I knew that I must die.” (Antigone 450-460). This example from the play, shows that Antigone did not care if Creon her king told her not to bury her brother. She knew that it was her duty as his sister and a servant of the gods to bury her brother the he should have been that first time the body was brought back from battle.