Young Goodman Brown And The Lottery Short Story

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

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.

woman in question is his Faith, and because of this, he easily loses his faith.

There are many techniques on how they are similar in each story. The techniques that are similar are the tone and figurative language that is used in each of the stories.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” both tell stories using literary techniques of tone, symbolism, and irony that help to convey stories that leave the reader baffled by their ending. Although Hawthorne and Jackson utilize these literary techniques in a different way, both of the stories end with a sense of darkness.

Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne were two American authors who were born over a century apart and shared the same love of literary works but in a sick and twisted kind of way. They were authors who simply wrote with passion about beliefs, sin, and the natural temptations of evil in all humans. The story of “Young Goodman Brown”, takes places at the end of the 17th century, around the time of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, in New England in colonial Massachusetts, Hawthorne’s keen interest which is sin-and-brimstone a Puritans past.

But “with excellent resolve for the future,” as many good intentions have, Goodman justifies his departure towards a purpose the reader is warned as “evil.”

Young Goodman Brown and the Lottery Symbolism Use In: "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Lottery" The authors, Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, both frequently use symbols within their stories "The Lottery" and "Young Goodman Brown." Symbols are utilized as an enhancement tool to stress the theme of each story. Hawthorne uses names and objects to enhance the theme, and Jackson mainly utilizes names to stress the theme, although she does have one object as a symbol of great importance to the theme. The stories both contain symbols describing evil. The majority of Hawthorne's symbols describe religion (both good and evil), but Jackson’s symbols reflect the evil nature within society as a whole. There exists a symbolic act in each story.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the theme of fitting in is shown through the characters. Both authors show that what happens when people blindly follow social norms. Goodman Brown, a character in "Young Goodman Brown," starts out with a strong faith in the values of his community but later realizes the truth about their hidden sins. In "The Lottery," Tessie Hutchinson is a citizen who later on becomes a victim of her community's tradition, showing how following society can have serious consequences. Both authors show us through their characters how society's expectations have the power to change individuals and lead us to reconsider our own choices and beliefs.

Ethical philosophy was a major focus of 20th century thinking. Philosophers spent a lot of time debating the nature of moral statements. This field of ethics is collectively known as meta-ethics. Charles Leslie Stevenson developed the theory known as emotivism to describe why people use moral expressions. Emotivism is the belief that moral phrases express a personal opinion, as opposed to describing the fundamental nature of the world. Emotivist concepts can occasionally be found within literature. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathanial Hawthorne each portray emotivist ideas through statements and actions made by the characters. The story “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., serves as a “moral statement”

Both “The Lottery” and “Charles” have many similarities and differences. I will only talk about 3 major similarities and 3 major differences. The three similarities are Dialogue, foreshadowing, and plot twist. The three differences are setting, plot, and tone of story.

In both stories, the innocent characters were fighting death at the hands of someone who found the idea of killing another human being to be a game. In “The Lottery” the game of death consumed an innocent life solely because a few individuals founded a tradition; and in “The Most Dangerous Game” the game of death consumed an innocent life solely because one person thought it was merely entertaining. Both authors portrayed the antagonist as friendly, warm and welcoming. In the Lottery, the antagonists were the families whom participated in the drawing of a name that lead to the stoning of another family member (which may or may not be their own family member). In “The Most Dangerous Game” the antagonist was a well-off general who opened his luxurious home to guests who have gone astray from their original destination. Death is the main theme of both short stories and both authors portrayed this dark and dreary idea as a game the characters are playing.

There is a lot that goes into a fictional story, especially for the writer of the story. Most readers don’t look closely enough at a story to realize how much truly goes into it. Two major aspects that go into writing a fictional story include characterization and setting, both of which play a major role in the stories “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Without the settings and characters in these stories, they wouldn’t be the same. The stories rely heavily on both. Jackson and Hawthorne use setting and characterization to convey and reinforce the idea that things are not always the way they seem

In today’s society we perceive the lottery as being a great fortune brought down upon you by Lady Luck. It is a serendipitous event, even if the person has done nothing to earn it. One would never see the lottery as an unfortunate occasion that occurred in your life because it is supposed to bring prosperity into your life. Also, one would not dare to think that winning the lottery would bring such repercussions as injury or death. In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author could have used Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson as the town’s scapegoat due to their reluctance to change traditions, her horrible work ethic, and minority status as a woman.

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.