Comparing The Pedestrian And The Lottery

Utopian literature is characterized by being a place where you are free and everyone is free. Most people in a utopia are happy. However, in the story of “The Pedestrian” and “The Lottery,” the rebel rebels against the system and is punished as a result. In both stories, it seems there is a utopia but as the rebels speak out it, it is revealed that the society is, instead, a dystopia.

In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the reader is introduced to a utopian community who practice the tradition of a lottery every year. At first glance, it seems like a nice day and the kids are just collecting rocks while waiting for their parents to arrive. All of the citizens show some excitement over the upcoming the lottery. The text states,

“Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes.“ (Jackson 1). As the lottery progresses we learn that the winner of the lottery gets stoned to death. “The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles.”
(Jackson 6). This quote shows that what seems to be a utopian society is actually more of a dystopian society. All of the members of the community participate in murder. This story is a perfect example of how perfection can be deceiving.
In the short story “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, the reader is introduced to a futuristic society where citizens have access to technology and where technology makes the lives of citizens better.

For example, “Crime was ebbing; there was no need for the police, save for this one lone car wandering and wandering the empty streets.” (Bradbury 1). Clearly this quote shows that because technology is making people safer so there's no need for a real police force. Another part of this system of safety involves a curfew for all people. After a certain time, people are expected to be in their homes watching tv. This society becomes a dystopia because people don’t have enough freedom to do what they want. For example Leonard Mead breaks the rules by taking a walk after dark every night. On one night the cop car confronts him and begins to question him. The cop car asks him,”...You have a viewing screen in your house to see with.” (Bradbury 2). Mr.Mead responded by saying he was just out for a walk and he was arrested for walking. This shows that technology doesn’t understand humans and isn’t always good. This story is one example of how it is almost impossible to create a

utopia.
In the stories, “The Lottery” and “The Pedestrian” the rebel of the story is punished for standing up for what they believe is wrong.

In “The Lottery” the rebel Tessie Hutchinson stated that “It isn’t fair, she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head.” (Jackson 6). Tessi was standing up for herself and trying to get people to realize that stoning someone to death is wrong and others should stand up and say that it is wrong. She felt that stoning someone to death to control the population was cruel and she did not want to die. Leonard Mead in the story, “The Pedestrian,” was arrested by the only police car left in the city for walking at night. Leonard was not doing anything illegal, he was just out for his nightly walk. “There was a sigh, a pop. The back door of the police car sprang wide. Get in. Wait a minute, I haven’t done anything!” (Bradbury 2). Leonard was arrested and taken to Psychartiatic Center for Research because he was alone. Leonard tried to defend himself but was still arrested because he did not have an alibi. These two stories are related because both characters try to defend themselves against what they think is wrong. My feeling is that both characters are correct and that they needed more people to support them in what they were trying to

accomplish.
In a utopia the society is thought to be always perfect. However sometimes the perfect society could turn into a dystopia. The two stories that I read had main characters that rebelled against the utopia. They rebelled because they felt that they were not being treated fairly. In the end both characters lost because one was killed and the other was taken to a mental institution. People should be allowed to speak their will and should not always be ignored. If we take time to listen to people we may learn that we are not always correct and we should be open to other ideas.