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FICTION ESSAY

Robert Martinez
ENGL 102-D14
April 7, 2014

By reading Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Graham Greene’s “The Destructors,” the reader is transported into two different stories where the characters are affected by their surroundings or society in a negative and horrific fashion. The authors paint a clear picture as to how society (the way it was, it is or could be), easily and harshly affects the people that live in it. They are marked, impacted and forever affected by what has taken place around them, and their character and attitude towards everyday life is created by the very circumstances they find themselves. The setting, tone, and overall theme, found in these two short stories expose the reader to these unfortunate transitions of attitudes (or lack thereof) over generations.
The setting of Graham’s “The Destructors” takes place in a war torn England at the end of World War II, “on the eve of August Bank Holiday.” A group or “gang” of young boys meet in an impromptu car park. They are known as the Wormsley Common Gang and are led by their new gang leader “T”. Mr. Thomas’ (or Old Misery as the gang calls him) house is the focus of the gang’s disapproval of anything valuable in their society. Their mind can only fathom destruction, ruin and rubble and so to save Mr. Thomas from his “misery” they make plans to destroy anything that is beautiful, starting with his house. Unlike their parents, who perhaps had the opportunity to experience the beauty of England before the war ever occurred, the gang is determined to bring down the icon of construction and make everything non personal. It is a setting where the characters have forgotten the glories of England and do not care anymore. The contrast in the setting of Jackson’s “The Lottery” is seen as it takes place in a small town, in rural America. It begins with a setting of peace and takes place in June on a clear and sunny day, but ends in a quite different light as the author builds up the suspense as the story progresses. The characters are mainly older folks by the name of Mr. Summers, Mr. Graves, Old Man Warner and Tessie Hutchinson. These characters are different from those in “The Destructors” in that they value what once was, their tradition. There is a sense of value in this story even though what is valued is deadly. Perhaps the reader can also see a comparison between the two stories as the gang (in The Destructors) destroys all around them to cherish what they have been used to, and the older folks (in The Lottery) destroy their loved ones in order that they might cherish what they were used to as well… tradition. In the end the settings of both stories are conducive to what these folks believe and value, whether it is buildings or life itself.
The Contrasts of tone are presented as well concerning the two stories. The feeling that both authors give in their short stories can at first seem misleading and unclear. However, as the reader continues he can easily see the differences between the two and clarity of tone is brought to the forefront. In “The Destructors” a lack of construction and a lack of respect is portrayed throughout the story. Again, what once was is no longer. To the gang, everything in their environment must reflect ruin, chaos, and destruction. We can see this even in other characters in the story line, through people such as “the driver” who at the end of the story is found laughing. He then proceeds to say to Mr. Thomas, “I’m sorry. I can’t help it, Mr. Thomas. There is nothing personal, but you got to admit it’s funny.” The driver’s statement sums up the attitude of the generation in the story; there was nothing personal anymore! The tone that “The Lottery” delivers is quite different and at times unclear. The story begins with a calm tone and then slowly moves to uneasiness and finally to a tone of horror at the end of the story. The people we read about express tones of uneasiness, impatience, humor, and sadness as we see words like, “nervously”, awkwardly”, and “a sudden hush fell over the crowd” are all tones of tension that the reader feels. What began as a sunny, peaceful day ends in a high noon small town murder scene. The unfortunate truth is that, through both of these stories, the characters are victims of their surroundings. The young gang succumbs to their atmosphere of ruin and contributes to the overall destruction. The folks in “The Lottery” are willing to go through the annual awkwardness in order to preserve their age-old traditions. In either story, the attitudes about life that are passed on are governed and formed by the characters surroundings.
Throughout the entire theme of both stories, the reader can see some similarities amongst the characters portrayed. The young people perform actions of violence only because they grew up in these environments. For example, the loss of innocence is seen as the Wormsley Common Gang in “The Destructors” perform acts of violence and vandalism in their own war-torn neighborhood. They are used to this scenario and so they only contribute to their society what they have known their whole life. The reader can also see this loss of innocence in “The Lottery” as young kids are taught from an early age to “murder” their own loved ones. This is seen when “someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles” to toss at his own mother! The reader can see how the authors created the idea of helpless victims of their society in the two short stories presented. In one story (The Destructors), the youth allow their destroyed atmosphere to control their decisions while, in the other story (The Lottery), the people allow their destructive tradition to control their decisions. The reader can easily draw this parallel by reading both stories. In this light, there is a similar theme of destruction in both stories.
Whether reading from “The Destructors” or from “The Lottery” the audience is right away looking at two different settings. One is initially peaceful, and the other is war-torn. The turn of events in both stories draws differing tones at first glance. Young gang members are fighting to destroy the beauty and tear down any order, while on the other hand, the people in a rural town are willing to sacrifice their own loved ones for the beauty of a worthy crop. In each story the theme is the destruction of innocence, life, and respect for the upcoming generations. The characters fall prey to the prevailing attitudes around them, and the transitions of those attitudes in the upcoming generation in both stories will surely be affected for the worse.

Greene, Graham. “The Destructors” (1954) http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pcp_97542_lit_lu/ebook/media/greene_destructors.swf (Accessed April 7, 2014)
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery” (1949) Literature, In introduction to fiction, poetry, drama and writing. (Pgs. 251-256) (Accessed April 7, 2014)

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[ 1 ]. Graham Greene, “The Destructors” (1954) (Accessed April 7, 2014)
[ 2 ]. Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” (1949) (Accessed April 7, 2014)

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