The two texts “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Unwilling Witness” by Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi complicate each other on the idea of standing up against wrongdoing. In the short story “The Lottery” the citizens of a small town gather every year for the lottery. The “winner” of the lottery is then stoned to death by their fellow citizens. For years and years, this tradition has been carried out and had been blindly followed. They people of this town had been following this tradition for so long that they “ only half listened to the directions: most of them were quiet. wetting their lips. not looking around,”(Jackson, 3). Even though everyone knew that the lottery was going to happen year after year it didn’t stop anyone from continuing to partake in the tradition. …show more content…
Later on in the story, some of the villagers bring up that some nearby towns and villages are giving up the lottery.
The oldest resident of that town Old Man Warner called the residents of those town’s residents a "Pack of crazy fools,”(Jackson 4). It seems that none of the people know what the purpose of this lottery is because it was created a long time ago but Old Man Warner claims that with the “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,”(Jackson 4). Old Man Warner says that there has always been a lottery in the town and it will remain that way. Some residents often called it unfair like Tessie and Mrs. Hutchinson when name drawing process was going unfairly. When their family was called up to pick a name Tessie yelled “You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!,”(Jackson, 5). After Tessie was the “winner” of the lottery Mrs.Hutchinson called the event “It isn't fair, it isn't right,”(Jackson,7). Overall even though characters like Tessie and Mrs. Hutchinson claimed that the lottery was unfair and not right they didn’t take any action to try and stop the lottery for further years to
come. In the article “The Unwilling Witness” by Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi he stood up against an issue that he felt strongly about unlike the villagers in “The Lottery”. Al-Saiedi was a reporter for The Times and was reporting in his native country of Iraq. The scene in Iraq at the time was very violent and Al-Saiedi claims it was “dangerous territory for Americans or anyone employed by them,”(Al-Saiedi,1). After witnessing so much violence and war while overseas in Iraq, Al-Saiedi quit his job as a Times reporter. Al-Saiedi did stand up for what he believed in because he didn’t want to have to report and have to witness people of his native country and also co-workers being killed. He had lost two co-workers from The Times while reporting in Iraq. By quitting his reporting job he demonstrated how he was standing up for what was right by not wanting any other of his colleagues to have to go and be in so much danger. Overall Al-Saidei unlike the villagers in “The Lottery” demonstrated that in order to seek change and get what you want you to have to stand up for what you think is right.
Jackson in her story, “The Lottery”, describes how society and villagers preserve the tradition of lottery without even knowing its origin. Hawthorne, in his story, “Young Goodman Brown” describes the presence of corruption and evil in the society. Both stories have common ideas such as corruption in our society, continuation of barbarous and unethical old traditions, and failure of people in handling those barbarous actions. Both stories have a common theme of evil and darkness but they are presented in different manners. This paper discusses similarities and differences in “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” by analyzing different literary elements. Jackson, in her story, questions beliefs of individuals, their actions, and blind faith towards old barbaric traditions by using an evil theme and symbolism. Hawthorne adopted a different approach to show presence of evil in our society by showing the inner struggle of the lead character.
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...
How would it feel to have friends killed with a single word? That if you tried to step in and intervene you could be targeted next? What do you do when nobody else stand up? The Crucible, written by ____, takes place in Salem during the 1600’s witch trials and revolves around false witch hunts sprouted from adulterous relationships. “The Lottery”, written by ____, takes place in a small town in america in which there is a yearly drawing. Every member in the town participates in the drawing and the person who gets the unlucky draw is stoned to death by the town.. Both The Crucible and “The Lottery” display harsh truths about the negative effects society and its influences can have on its members. One truth that is evident is the result tradition
'They do say,' Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, 'that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery.' Old Man Warner snorted. 'Pack of crazy fools,' he said. 'Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live hat way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery,' he added petulantly (Jackson 4).
Compare and Contrast! Well, you use it on a daily right? The stories “The Lottery” and “The Landlady” are two stories that you can compare and contrast. Some examples of comparisons are that both of the stories use violence, and that they both end with a plot twist no one was expecting. One example of a contrast in both of these stories is that they use their imagery differently. How are these stories alike and how are they different?
Written by Shirley Jackson and published in 1948, “The Lottery” is a dystopian short fiction about a cruel and barbaric lottery ritual. The plot and characters illustrate that certain traditions ought to be abolished for the betterment of society. At the beginning of the story, the entire village gather around every year on June 27th to attend the lottery, which is mandatory. Once everyone arrived to the center, an old man named Joe brought a black box. Eventually, the heads of each family have to pull a ticket from this box, but they cannot be opened and must remain folded until everyone took their turn. Eventually, after everyone had their turn, everyone has to open up the paper and show it up for everyone to witness. If the head of the family pulled a blank ticket, then the family has nothing to
One being Tessie Hutchinson and the other being Old Man Warner. While their roles both held significant places in setting the tone of the story their character traits were completely opposite to one another. While Tessie’s character was more unruly Old Man Warner’s seemed to be more traditional believing that the lottery was a good thing. He is the oldest man in the town and has been around to see his share of lotteries. “Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery… seventy-seventh time.” (Jackson 250) His ideals are very traditional in that he believed that the lottery was a necessity to the survival of the town and stressed on the fact that it has always been around. While other towns had contemplated stopping the lottery, Old Man Warner believed it to be a silly notion calling the north village a pack of crazy fools. “Listening to the young folks, nothing is good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while.” (Jackson 250) For Old Man Warner the lottery was about saving traditions and strongly believed that the sacrifice the townspeople made each year would help the town prosper. “Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn will be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns.” (Jackson 250) He did not seem to be bothered at the
In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives.
In the year 2012- 2013, though several 3.1 public high school students or 81 percent, graduated on time (Public High School Graduation Rates), how many students in that number truly gain the full education. Nowadays, education is necessary, which becomes a controversial issue between parents and the school. Either Charter or Public school encourages the development or improvement of the educational system to our young, beloved children. There are further charters out there which children can stay home, however, still learn enormous things. “Lottery” documentary film is about the controversy between public and charter schools, which tells the stories of four families who tried to find a better educational
Mrs. Hutchinson runs into the event late, laughing that she had “[c]lean forgot what day it was” (Jackson 292). After that, Mr. Summers, the officiator of the lottery, calls out names of the people who are unable to attend the lottery, and asks for the person who will be drawing for them. There were two people missing, Clyde Dunbar who had broken his leg, and the Watson’s mother. Dunbar’s wife was drawing for him, and it seemed that she was unhappy that she was the one handed this task. Similarly, a boy from the Watson family was nervously drawing for his mother and himself. This is where the tension and the suspense of the story begin to build, as the reader can tell that the characters are growing increasingly worried as more names are called. Mr. Adams and Old Man Warner discuss the north village, a town contemplating abandoning the lottery. Old Man Warner calls them “crazy” (Jackson 294), and that “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson 294). This is another example of the rigidness of the townspeople when it comes to their old traditions, as well as beginning to show that the lottery isn’t exactly a positive event, as many towns are dropping it. Next, the Hutchinson family is called, meaning that either Mr. or Mrs. Hutchinson or one of their three children will be the winner of the lottery. Mrs. Hutchinson immediately protests, adding to the mystery of the lottery. Considering that most people would be thrilled to be the winner of the lottery, this scene is another indication that the lottery is anything but good. One by one, the Hutchinsons revealed their slips of papers that they drew to determine the winner, and each person that holds a blank shows great relief. The climax of the story arrives as Tessie Hutchinson is revealed to be the winner of the lottery. This simultaneously relieves some of the suspense
Change seems to be closer than expected. Many of the other villages changed their traditions and got rid of the lottery. This sparks some controversy in the society. Some villagers strongly believed that it was time for the lottery to end. Others did not want to part with their cultural traditions, some even believing that the lottery brought good harvest. Unfortunately for Tessie Hutchinson, the traditions do not change in time to spare her life. The author’s description of the symbols in the short story help to reveal the layers of the society in which the lottery exists. Throughout the short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the author’s depiction of the black box, Davy Hutchinson, the main character’s son, and the lottery itself help to convey the idea that fear of change can impede evolution in a
In "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson fills her story with many literary elements to mask the evil. The story demonstrates how it is in human nature to blindly follow traditions. Even if the people have no idea why they follow.
In Ursula LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” both short stories convey ideas of sacrifice to show how the perfect society is impossible and that there is always an evil. Both LeGuin and Jackson convey this message through the settings, people, and the intent behind the sacrifices. A comparison between the two societies reveal that there are similarities in the themes of the short stories but differences in the ritual and intent of the sacrifices.
Shirley Jackson describes the characters in “The Lottery” in a way that readers can relate to each of them in some way, yet she makes one character stand out from the start of the story. Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson arrives late, having “clean forgot what day it was” (411). While the town does not make a fuss over Tessie’s tardiness, several people make remarks, “in voices loud enough to be heard across the crowd” (411). Jackson makes the choice to have Tessie stand out from the crowd initially. This choice first shows Tessie’s motivation. Tessie was so
Lottery" was written shortly after World War II, however it is unknown as to when