A Utopia is a place or state of things in which everything is perfect. Generally, in a utopian society the form of government that is established is that of a totalitarian dictatorship. Totalitarianism is an imposing form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed. While being restraint from individualism, utopian societies also manipulate the “peoples” sense of hope, as depicted in the films The Hunger Games, The Island, and The Lottery in addition to the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson (which the movie is based on). Eminently, a utopian society’s goal is to have perfect organization and peace, in their standards. In order to maintain their version of a perfect civilization, the dictator usually instills fear into the citizens. Fear of breaking the laws that are established, as well as fear for survival. As fear is engraved into the citizens, so is the lack of hope. As depicted, in the short story “The Lottery”, including the movie, where the mayor of New Hope (where the story takes place) makes …show more content…
it clear that he is in charge and no one denies that. This depiction of a utopian society displays a place where once a year, on June 27 the mayor and the people of New Hope hold a “lottery”. The heads of each family draw from a box, whoever gets the piece of paper with a black dot on it must then come forth with their entire family and must once again draw from that box. Whoever has the paper with the black dot must then compliantly be stoned to death by the rest of the village. The citizens believe that by sacrificing one of their own it will guarantee a good harvest for the upcoming year. They put all their hope that what they are doing is for a good cause. In fear, of not having a good harvest and defying tradition, no one questions the morality of it all. There are no illusions for change and the government uses their fear in order to make sure of that. The underlying theme of a “perfect society is instilled in all the utopias.
In the movie The Hunger Games, the vehicle of fear and tradition are used to control the inhabitants of the civilization. The film takes place in a distant future, in a totalitarian nation called Panem, which is divided into 12 districts and the capital. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected to participate in the Hunger Games. Partly for entertainment (televised event) and partly as punishment for a past rebellion. The 24 players are forced to terminate their competitors until there is only one person left, while the people of Panem are required to watch. The citizens put their hope in the system. They are brainwashed to believe they have to participate in the Hunger
Games. Furthermore, the generalization of a “lottery” is utilized once again, in the movie “The Island” which takes place in a contained facility. The inhabitants all hope to be chosen in the lottery and win the opportunity to be sent to the “island”(reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet after a disease outbreak). The government manipulates the people by deceiving them and giving them hope that they’re going to win a the opportunity to go to paradise , when in reality they are being taken to their deaths. In closing, all totalitarian forms of government use manipulation, fear, and sometimes deception in order to obtain their vision of a perfect society. The imposing government structure uses the peoples dependence on tradition in order to coerce the civilians to do what it is they want. Whether it is the constant persuasion of hope to win something, or simple survival, totalitarian environments such as the ones illustrated in the films The Hunger Games, The Island, and The Lottery in addition to the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, control the
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.
Suzanne Collins has, through her writings, used great imagery to expose the meaningful side of ‘The Hunger Games’, the side that is not all about what takes place in the arena. The Capitol’s rule over the districts, the reality-show part of the Hunger Games and the Mockingjay pin are all fragments of deeper meanings that create the basis of all that the story is. Suzanne Collins has depicted the country of Panem as a place overruled by a large city, known as the Capitol. The Hunger Games is apparently a means to keep peace and a fair punishment for the rebellion of the districts, where district 13 was obliterated in the mess. However, Collins has spun this interpretation around and unveiled a different perspective – that The Hunger Games is
The Hunger Games are basically the embodiment of society's off sense of entertainment. It combines the oddities that are violence and reality TV. However, what is it that insinuates the tones for this type of movie? Initially, there's a scene that addresses the fact that the society of this movie is conducting the games as though it was a standardized athletic tournament. In the movie, Haymitch Abernathy brings up how there are sponsors who deliver supplies to the “contestants”. Basically, sponsors influence the who will live or die, incidentally affecting the course of the games. During this scene, he claims, “And to get sponsors, you have to make people like you.” This scene mentions the thought on how people living in societies today work
Freedom is one of the many great qualities of life, but when it is taken away, life could turn out to be anything but great. Freedom to think, repent, and refuse should be incorporated in ones daily routine, but under an authoritarian dystopian society, these freedoms are only dreamt of. When society draws such attitudes and lifestyles upon its citizens, one adapts and accepts these requests, but not without a compromise. In Shirley Jackson’s masterpiece ‘The Lottery’ and Kurt Vonnegut’s exceptional story ‘Harrison Bergeron’, human life is so often sacrificed and withdrawn that is becomes a norm in society. Forcing people to agree with someone else’s ideology of harmony and success cannot be achieved without discarding the non-believers. Both dystopian societies possess excessive force on their civilians, with harsh consequences resulting in death. Traditional values and dictatorship laws forcefully overcome the mass population’s beliefs, resulting in obedience and respect to the laws of society. By comparing and contrasting the short story ‘The Lottery’ and ‘Harrison Bergeron’, it can be derived that these societies have strict rules and regulations, citizens of the society have become so adapted that they are afraid of change, and there is a severe lack of freedom.
Shirley Jackson wrote many books in her life, but she was well known by people for her story “The Lottery” (Hicks). “The Lottery” was published on June 28, 1948, in the New Yorker magazine (Schilb). The story sets in the morning of June 27th in a small town. The townspeople gather in the square to conduct their annual tradition, the Lottery. The winner of the lottery will stoned to death by the society. Although there is no main character in the story, the story develops within other important elements. There are some important elements of the story that develop the theme of the story: narrator and its point of view, symbolism, and main conflict. The story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, argues practicing a tradition without understanding the meaning of the practice is meaningless and dangerous.
What would happen if an utopia wasn’t all that perfect on the inside? Judging by just the appearance of something may lead to a situation of regret and confusion.” The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson address the theme of religious and traditional symbolism.” The Lottery” demonstrates how something that seems so perfect on the outside isn’t all that great on the inside.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 5th ed. Ed. Laurence Perrine. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Publishers 1998.
The definition of Utopia is, “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.” The rules and controls listed above and the many more that are in the book “Anthem” describe a society trying to become collective but in a utopian way. The purpose of these rules and controls is to keep the society collectivist. Fear is what runs this society. “.
Though many societies are different from each other in appearance, they have more aspects in common than some may expect. This is very true in the societies in the movie, The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross, and the short story, “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson. The Hunger Games is about the struggle of a young woman who is trying to survive a deadly competition between multiple people drawn and nominated to fight to the death for sport due to a failed revolt against the government. “The Lottery” is a story about how families are picked at random with one member getting stoned to death and how a young woman decides to stand up to her society. Both The Hunger Games and “The Lottery” have many similarities in regards to tradition
Communism, the perfect utopia, Carl Marx 's creation of the perfect government, society, and well-being of its citizens on paper looks like the obvious choice of government, but humans will be ones to destroy it because of greed, want, and power, humanity. The two short stories, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, present the notorious human characteristics that plague all; the ones that will never change. Poe and Jackson 's short stories express the effect of human nature, the willingness to pin others to avoid oppression (scapegoat), and deception.
Typically, when someone thinks of a lottery they think of something positive and exciting but contrary to this idea in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the connotation has an entirely different meaning. As the story begins, readers lean towards the belief that the town in which Jackson depicts is filled with happiness and joy. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 247) We soon realize that this notion is far from the truth. As the townspeople gather in the square for the annual lottery, which sole purpose is to stone someone to death by randomly pulling a paper out of a black box with a black dot on it, it is learned
The theme in “The Lottery” is violence and cruelty. Violence and cruelty is a major theme because there is a lot of violence and cruelty in the world. The Lottery has been read as addressing such issues as the public's fascination with salacious and scandalizing journalism, McCarthyism, and the complicity of the general public in the victimization of minority groups, epitomized by the Holocaust of World War II. The Holocaust was very cruel and violent cause other people didn’t like certain people so they just kill them and their children and still now we have violence and cruelty with wars and people that hate each other.
Did you know that Merle and Patricia Butler from Red Bud, Illinois and three teachers from Baltimore Maryland won the biggest lottery in American history at $656 million dollars? That means every person acquired $218.6 million dollars each from the lottery (Carlyle). Unfortunately, the citizens of Shirley Jacksons’ fantasy short story “The Lottery” were not imbursed with money, but were stoned to death by their peers. “The Lottery” is a lottery of death in which the town uses to keep the population down (Voth). The story consist of many subjects to analyze which include: irony, imagery, and pathos.
Certain societies rely heavily on tradition to uphold rules, regulations, and positions of power. Tradition allows for younger generations to relate to their elders by leading by example. Shirley Jackson wrote “The Lottery” in the late 1940’s, when society was dealing with the aftermath of World War II and the setting of the world was changing. Before the war, the world was more pleasant and safe. After the end of the war, America entered into a period of uncertainty and danger with the start of the Cold War and the boom of nuclear weaponry. In Jackson writing “The Lottery,” she is commenting on the time period saying that it was a time of unpredictability and immorality. She achieves this effect by using setting to depict the irony of the tradition of the lottery.
"The Lottery" is a short story that shows just how disturbing the human mind can be at times. As the story proceeds it builds the reader up till the end where what you thought was going to happen did not turn out that way. But is that not how our lives are portrayed? Do we not build ourselves up to society believing what they say and do until the matter is put into our hands? Mrs. Hutchinson was a follower of society just like we are. Everyday was the same routine and every year she played the lottery just like all of the other town people. But this year would be a very different year for Mrs. Hutchinson because her chance at the lottery was about to happen. Now as a reader in this day, we would think of the lottery to be a great prize to receive but not during the days of these town people.