The Destruction Of Children In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

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In the first few years of a child’s life, every situation is important to the shaping of a child’s future. In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, a cruel tradition occurs in towns across the nation that negatively impacts the children. Every year, the town gathers and at random chooses a member of a family to be stoned to death. Young Dave Hutchinson’s life is changed forever when his mother, Tessie Hutchinson, is chosen in the lottery. Witnessing murder at such a young age can cause mental health issues in adulthood, possibly becoming harmful to others. Also, the children will have to decide whether or not they should go against the wishes of the current adults in their community and get rid of the lottery. Finally, there are …show more content…

The violent experiences that the children experience can be detrimental in their futures, which can be a cause for change. In other towns, they have already started talking about abolishing the lottery, opening the gateway of possibility. Old Man Warner’s opinion is that the other towns are “a pack of wild fools, listening to the young folks,” (256). Children are the ones who are going to shape society when they grow up and seeing loved ones and neighbours getting murdered as a community might no longer make sense. Also they might not want the same fate of mental illness for their children. Conjointly, if the stoning only occurs to maintain healthy crop, the children, when they are adults can choose to just maintain a healthy crop with merciless murder. Therefore eradicating the lottery will ensure that no one else can be harmed by the lottery, despite what their older neighbours …show more content…

First of all, he is going to be growing up without a mother, she will never be able to teach him mannerisms, how to do housework, etc. Before the draw in the lottery, Mrs. Hutchinson states that she wouldn’t “leave [her] dishes in the sink,” (255). This quote is a good example of good mannerisms and that she knows how to do housework. But, because she is stoned to death, it also means that he is going have to help out more around the house and help his father, making more of workload. Moreover, a mother is usually the parent to teach the son how to prefect a relationship. It has already been established that the lottery can cause violent relationships, however Dave us at even more of a disadvantage. His mother will never be able to teach him what a girl likes, or how to treat a woman. Dr. Coleman, a psychologist, states that mothers teach their sons on how to treat a woman with respect, and “boys learn more from their mothers about how to love than their fathers,” (Samalonis). Unfortunately Dave Hutchinson will, like other children, be without a mother in the household, missing out on important motherly lessons in

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