Hunger Games versus The Lottery Essay

“The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it” (Twain). The Lottery begins during the summer. A small, seemingly normal, town is gathering to throw the annual “Lottery”. In the end, the townspeople—children included—gather around and stone the winner to death, simply because it was tradition. The story reveals how traditions can become outdated and ineffective. “I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson). As humans develop as a race, their practices should develop with them. Shirley Jackson develops the

In writings, one can see a lot of similarities in stories, whether it be something as simple as the plot or things of that nature or something deeper like the meanings behind each one of them. But along with the similarities of course come the differences, because no story can be exactly the same. If you look at “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, you can see this trend hold true.

Tradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackon's short story The Lottery. Images such as the black box and characters such as Old Man Warner, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Hutchinson display to the reader not only the tenacity with which the townspeople cling to the tradition of the lottery, but also the wavering support of it by others. In just a few pages, Jackson manages to examine the sometimes long forgotten purpose of rituals, as well as the inevitable questioning of the necessity for such customs.

The storyline in the popular movie "The Hunger Games", is nothing compared to the events that partake in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. In "The Lottery", the author employs many literary elements to describe a town's annual ritual. At first glance, the reader may think that the story will be a gleeful one, because many of the townspeople enjoyed and looked forward to the ritual. However, as one reads further, the story progresses into a dark and eerie story. The audience doesn't know the ritual; but through foreshadowing the author provides hints towards the dramatic ending. As the audience reads the story, the theme is also developed by the authors use of foreshadowing.

Tradition is a large part of life today, but decades ago it was almost a way of life and if it was not followed there were stiff consequences. The story is misleading by the title because of the normal thought of a lottery is something positive or a giveaway. The story is quite the opposite of the common thought. The main point that Jackson shows in “The Lottery” is that people can be involved with such a violent act and think nothing of it. In the story all the people are happy, “they stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.”(Jackson 124). The tradition the village seams at first to be a happy scene, but later learn that it is a terrible event that is a

As the plot of the stories unfolds, the greater influence of violent tensions become evident. In The Lottery, people follow the tradition despite its cruelty and absurdity. Although the ritual of the lottery is brutal, the dwellers of the village do not seem to see how barbaric it is because “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson, 1982, p. 118). Nevertheless, the tensions grow when the lottery begin and every citizen is awaiting for its end. The climatic moment of the story grows when the reader discovers that Tess

The Lottery is another story of a seemingly perfect town that sacrifices one for the sake of many, but in this instance, the sacrifice is in vain because it is just a superstitious tradition. The citizens of this town were blinded by tradition and rituals of the town even though many have forgotten why they do the lottery. Jackson shows this when she wrote, “The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (The Lottery 1). It likens these common and cheerful events such as dances and Halloween programs to the sacrificing of an innocent person to better their year. The village seemed so calm and peaceful, but they were still inclined to sin and did not feel much guilt when stoning. The Lotter depicts a dystopian society because a person is being immorally killed every year and no one is stopping it. The event has become dull and repetitive but is still being followed by the families in The Lottery. This theme is very common in dystopian societies and is shown in the evilness of the Lottery.

There are many Americans and people all over the world that live their lives following traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. A tradition can be as simple as cooking a recipe to how you raise your children and holiday traditions. Culture plays a significant role in how people live their day to day lives. In Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery” the people that lived in the town follow a tradition every year. It's easy to understand why Shirley Jackson’s Lottery caused controversy when it was published shortly after World War II in 1948. The Lottery has been dramatized, televised and turned into a ballet. It is taught in high schools and colleges. (Whittier). The Lottery held many questions about traditions that have

In The Lottery and The Hunger Game, the drawing lots are traditional conformity. In The Lottery, every June 27th, people of village gather in the square and people join the drawing lots. When the drawing lots are going along, people of village use the black box which use from old times traditionally. In The Hunger Game, all people from each district such as children and adults gather for draw lots every year.

Imagine having a tradition every year at your village or city, or something important that occurs once in awhile, that takes place as a fear on other people. This can compare in these two stories, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, and “The Hunger Games,” by Suzanne Collins. These two stories share the idea of tradition. In general, both stories try to keep the population down. Next, both “The Lottery,” and, “The Hunger Games,” keep up with tradition. Lastly, both stories give a theme and feeling of sacrifice. Tradition can change the way other places are thought of, and it can also change the way people act towards it.

When specific traditions within a civilization are blindly followed, the consequences may be dire and the society as a whole can be negatively impacted. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson both highlight the consequences that come along with condoning the traditions that were introduced into a culture. By using arbitrary rules, inequitable odds, and blindly following traditions in these pieces of literary work create an environment for a hostile social ritual and ceremony. The societies displayed in these pieces of literature share a tradition of cruel and murderous behavior which jeopardizes the livelihood of the people who reside in these areas, specifically the youth. Although both of the traditions

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story that ventures among years of traditional values that a small community is continuing to keep alive, through a yearly event in order to ensure a good harvest. This yearly event that became a tradition where it involves everyone in the small town to participate has become known to them as “The Lottery.” Though their lottery winner did not receive any money or reward, they instead are chosen as the yearly “sacrifice” to ensure successful crops. Even though “sacrifice” is not actually worded in the story, it is still implying that their tradition is really a sacrifice ritual. Which leads one to say that in the story “The Lottery,” the character Tess Hutchinson who fate chooses as its’ “winner” out

Another theme that The Lottery and The Hunger Games share is a dystopian society. The Hunger Games takes place in a country called Panem. Panem is split into thirteen sections, the rich Capitol, and twelve districts. The Capitol’s government controls everything and dictates the districts what to do. The government views Panem as a utopian society, but everyone in the districts disagrees. The people living in the districts starve, and fend on their own. The people of the districts are treated unfairly because of that, but also because of “The Hunger Games.” This “game” is when each district sacrifices a male and a

My two books for this comparison essay are “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. “The Lottery” is about the towns people drawing out slips of paper and seeing who gets the slip of paper with the black pencil dot; whereas The Hunger Games is about Katniss taking her sister's place when she she's called into the Hunger Games and trying to survive in the arena with Peeta in the Hunger Games. This book ends with Katniss and Peeta winning the Hunger Games and the two of them returning to District 12 with mixed feelings for each other, and an unforgettable experience. There are many similarities between these two books.

Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual is no longer a humble sacrifice that serves the purpose of securing the harvest but instead is a ceremony of violence and murder only existing for the pleasure found in this violence.