The Lottery Sacrifice

Almost every person in the world holds a set of traditions which have been established and practiced for a long period of time. However, some traditions often cause us to not see the rationality despite of the destructive nature it may have. In Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”, a sacrifice of one’s life becomes the “jackpot” of an annual event held in a small town. This society’s traditions have caused the people to do away with their rational thoughts and the values of their lives as they have become so stuck in their own cultural beliefs.

The short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, written by Ursula Le Guin, is about a so-called perfect society where the sacrifice of a child is what provides harmony, equality, and prosperity to the citizens of this city. As a reader, one is invited to create and visualize their own utopia, so that one is emerged with the reality of a moral dilemma: the happiness of many for the unhappiness of one. The symbol represented in the story reflects current and past society issues such as military sacrifice, slavery, and injustice.

The hazards of following tradition or living according to society norms; doing things just because society accepts and follows.

The Lottery, and Christianity Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery”, if left at face value, is a perverse tale of a small village sacrificial ceremony, which leaves a lasting impression upon the reader. However to take the story at face value would nearly be an exercise in futility, for then the reader would be missing the deeper meanings found in the delicate symbolism that Jackson places throughout the tale.

Both short stories have sacrifices that either add to or affect in some way the quality of the people’s lives. They both make a sacrifice that is very big to some and almost meaningless to others. One way the sacrifice adds to the people of Omelas’ lives is by keeping the child locked away in the cellar, the town can have happiness. “People went dancing.” and “A cheerful faint sweetness of the air from time to time trembled and gathered together and broke out into the great joyous clanging of bells” (LeGuin, 1). Prove that this sacrifice brought good things in their lives. They sacrifice the life of one so that their lives will be greater, “the victory they celebrate is that of life.” (LaGuin, 1). The short

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story littered with warnings and subtext about the dangers a submissive society can pose. While the opening is deceptively cheery and light Jackson uses an array of symbols and ominous syntax to help create the apprehensive and grim tone the story ends with. Her portrayal of the town folk as blindly following tradition represents the world during World War II when people’s failure to not mindlessly accept and heed authority lead to disastrous consequences. . Shirley Jackson uses a large array of techniques to help convey the idea that recklessly following and accepting traditions and orders can lead to disastrous consequences.

Before I start to write this paper, I have to say that I literally like this passage “The Lottery”, because it reflects many of the problems that exist in today’s society. The passage “ Lottery ” has several visible subjects and symbols as well as some that are not easy to find them. I personally found that one of the main subjects to this article is tradition. Later on I figured out that the tone is a very significant element in the article. Shirley Jackson uses the tone in "The Lottery" is not entirely same with the subjects mentioned above. I compared with the previous articles that we have read which was “The One Who walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin, he uses a satirical tone to describe utopianism; nevertheless, let’s return to this article, Shirley Jackson uses a very light tone, but at the end of the passage, I can see that there’s a dark ending in the story.

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.

Culture and history have always remained an important influence on literature. It can be both cruel and inspiring in their own ways. Jackson’s “The Lottery” can also be seen in this context. Culture is a powerful influence in people’s lives which are bound by traditions and customs. The author uses numerous symbols to portray the worst flaws of human creatures. She uses names, mostly symbols to show the ignorance of sacrificial lottery. The sacrifices which used to satisfy the god of harvest, have no meaning to their culture. However, The Lottery does not only represent tradition. It serves a fear in the villagers that if they rebel against the social rules, they might be selected for the next lottery. The author is showing how a person would rather sacrifice their own

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

“‘Can you sacrifice people?' I asked. 'Take their magic that way?' 'Yes,' he said. 'But there's a catch.' 'What's the catch?' 'You get hunted down even unto the ends of the Earth and summarily executed.’” Although this is a quote from Ben Aaronovitch’s Midnight Riot, it relates to this story’s themes of human sacrifice. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story where a small village of about 300 people have a lottery held every June, and the winner, whoever draws a slip of paper with a black spot on it, is the person who everyone in the village throws stones at. and the story implies that they are killed. The reason that the village actually has a lottery is because it is a superstitious tradition from a long time ago for human sacrifice to help their crops grow, one which they are too scared to discontinue.

Sacrifice is a hard concept to grasp within oneself because some people only think of themselves or just like how everything is already and would rather not change anything. Authors Shirley Jackson who wrote “The Lottery” and Ursula LeGuin who wrote “The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas” both focused on the idea of sacrifice in their short stories. Both authors came to a sense where change is inevitable but whether you take change and make the best of it or lie in the shadows determines what your outcome will be. There are some differences and similarities between these short stories including immorality, tradition, the sense of right and wrong, and anti-utopian.

When you hear the word lottery, you normally think of winning a lot of money. But for the people in this town, their reaction is a bit different. On the morning of June 27, 1943, the townspeople gathered around for an interesting event in the small town of Jackson City.

In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the story conducts a “lottery” that involves the families of the town to go into a drawing. Once the drawing is done, the winner of the lottery is used as a sacrifice in the town and is pelted by stones thrown from the community, including children. Furthermore, the basis of “The Lottery” has to do with psychological problems and influence. Psychoanalysis is built upon Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychology, which asserts that the human mind is affected by their “unconscious that is driven by their desires and fears” (Brizee). Analyzing the concept of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” through a psychoanalytic lens convey how society reflects on the consciousness, how the denial of the mind can avoid the

Shirley Jackson?s insights and observations about society are reflected in her shocking and disturbing short story The Lottery. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first is the shocking tendency for societies to select a scapegoat and second is the idea that communities are victims of social tradition and rituals.