...In the short stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula LeGuin, the authors consider their society as a utopia and believe sacrifice is the only way for it to remain a utopian society. The similarities and differences of the sacrifice of the two short stories consists of the type of society, the types of government, and how relates to the modern society. In “The Lottery,” their believes that without sacrifice is the only way to obtain livelihood. It is the only way to have food and to prevent a community wide famine. They choose to do a “lottery” because it randomly chooses a person out of the entire community to sacrifice their lives at a random pick which is much like modern day society and how people are chosen at random ny the card/number they get to win a certain amount of money. “Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in june, corn be heavy soon’” (Jackson 4). In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” they also believe that sacrifice is essential to life. In their society happiness,...
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...Perhaps two of the most intriguing and somewhat tragic short stories is that of D.H. Lawrence’s, “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”. With the classic theme of “luck” and what that means in each story, we see two very different meanings as these two stories unfold. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, we see the protagonist, Paul, who endlessly searches and somewhat attains luck in his search for his mother’s monetary desire. Within the lines of “The Lottery”, however, we see a quaint satirical setting of towns’ folk who gather together and draw papers from a black box to ultimately decide who is to be terminated as a sacrifice for all. Although from two very different authors it is very evident to see some similarities and differences that coincide within the two stories. “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are similar in plot and theme through their use of the scape goat synopsis as each story ends with sacrifice, but differ in characterization with the use of serious characters versus satirical ones. Plot and theme play a very important role in the similarities of “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner”. The scape goats, or ones who suffer for the good of all, in the stories are that of the characters of Paul (“The Rocking-Horse Winner) and Mrs. Hutchinson (“The Lottery”). In “The Lottery”, Mrs. Hutchinson ultimately picks the paper with the black dot on it Stewart 2 signifying her fate as the scape goat for the town. As...
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...Sacrifice: The Price to Pay ENGL 102: Literature and Composition Summer D 2013 Deena Cannaday ID # 20308095 APA Style Sacrifice: The Price to Pay Deena Cannaday Liberty University Online Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner,” are two fictional stories that are quite different in detail but have similar endings. The author gives us a glimpse into the lives of two mothers both different yet both facing similar challenges in life. Both Hester of “The Rocking Horse Winner,” and Tessie of “The Lottery,” had husbands and children each who treated and viewed their families differently. In “The Lottery,” Hester is portrayed as warm, caring and loving towards her children and husband while in “The Rocking Horse Winner,” Tessie is portrayed as cold, hard hearted and unloving towards her children and husband. Hester is concern about her family while Tessie on the other hand is only concern about herself. Tessie handles life challenges through love and sacrifice while Hester handles life challenges through greed and selfishness. Even though both stories are different, there are many similarities between the two stories encompassing love, sacrifice, and fear. In D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner,” the author tells the tale about a family who is obsessed with wealth and prosperity, mainly the mother Hester. Hester is portrayed as a very greedy and selfish person who is consumed by money and wealth. In Shirley Jackson’s...
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...“The Lottery” and “The rocking Horse Winner” This paper will compare and contrast two fictional short stories. They have differences that are extreme and similarities that are obvious. I will compare and contrast “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence. Both stories had the reader in great suspense and irony is very intriguing. The similarities that take place in the setting for ‘The Lottery” and “The Rocking Horse Winner appear to be credible. “The Lottery” is held in a village where all the citizens are present. It is summer, the flowers are blooming and the children are playing, The fathers are gathered together talking about crops and harvest with their wives close by their side. In “The Rocking Horse Winner” the mother is married into money that soon diminished. There is never enough money to satisfy the debt in the household. Surely these things are possible. Her son Paul longed to have her love at any cost. Once his mother told him his father wasn’t lucky, he set out on a quest to win her love through luck. The lack of love, affection and attention can happen in a household stressed by debt. The symbol used in both stories is a human sacrifice. In “The Lottery” the entire town desires to sacrifice a human life in hopes to be blessed with an abundance of crops. In “The Rocking Horse Winner” sacrifice is the sons own life. His needed to gain his mother’s love through luck. He rides his rocking horse daily in hopes to acquire...
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...“Sacrifice” it is to offer or give up something for the benefit of something else. Sacrifice is the theme of the short stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by author Ursula K. Leguin. The setting of both the stories is overall the same. The stories in the beginning are picturesque. “The Lottery” sets place in a quaint peaceful town and is clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” The Lottery is held every year and the readers assume that the gathering of the people in the town square is a positive significance for winning the lottery but the author briefly mentions about what the future holds, before the story unfolds. For instance the children picking up stones and “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the...
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...“The Lottery” and “The Most Dangerous Game” Fiction: Essay ENGL 102 Composition and Literature Liberty University Professor Rachel Downie 201540 Fall 2015 ENGL 102-D27 OUTLINE I. Introduction: a. Thesis Statement: Through scenery and characterization in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the violence in human nature is put to the test with what is right and what has become tradition. II. The Scenery: a. Scenery of lottery is so serene, peaceful, and beautiful compared to what is going to happen. b. Compare scenery of “Most Dangerous Game” with “The Lottery” c. Discuss how these two set the scene for two events that take place III. Characterization: a. Discuss the attitude of the village in “The Lottery” b. Discuss the attitude of General Zaroff in “The Most Dangerous Game” c. How these two attitudes go together and also go against each other IV. Human Nature: a. Human nature in “The Lottery” b. Human nature in “The Most Dangerous Game” c. Human nature in general V. Conclusion: a. Biblical Perspective of both stories b. Final Thoughts The cold wintery nights in contrast with the character Tiny Tim from “A Christmas Carol,” Nemo’s dad in contrast to the vast ocean and entirely too large of a world in the movie Finding Nemo, Adam and Eve in that radiant garden of Eden. All of these characterizations wildly contrast with...
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...The Lottery vs. The Rocking-Horse Winner Dashua Murphy Liberty University Online Fiction Essay Thesis Statement: While “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” differs on some levels, both stories carry the theme of death as a sacrifice for greater gain. 1) Need a. “The Lottery”: the village needs to uphold a cruel tradition to ensure a bountiful harvest b. “The Rocking-Horse Winner”: Paul needs to get “lucky” to satisfy the never ending needs of his mothers “unluckiness” 2) Unhealthy Support systems a. In “The Lottery” many of the villagers unconsciously support the cruel tradition of stoning one of its members for a better harvest b. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” Bassett and Uncle Oscar unwittingly attribute to Paul’s failing of health and considerable need to stay “lucky” 3) Ritual practices a. The lottery is conducted yearly to select the “winner” who will become the “sacrificial lamb” that will preserve the life of the village b. Paul madly rides his rocking horse on a journey to where “luck” is until he receives an answer for who the winning horse will be in the next race 4) Untimely Death a. Tessie is stoned to death after her husband selects the slip of paper that has the “black spot” and her family has to re-draw for the “winning” ticket b. Paul dies as a result of pursuing an answer for his greatest and most rewarding Derby gamble 5) Real World * “Jackson” declared the purpose of “The Lottery” had been “to shock the stories readers...
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...Both of these stories begin with a warming description of a beautiful summer day. “Fresh warmth…the flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green.” in the “Lottery” is similar to “Bright air…great water meadow…moss grown gardens under avenues of trees” in “The ones who walk away from Omelas”. Both stories are about communities that are full of joyful and happy citizens. In “…Omelas” it is a festival of summer with dancing in the streets, music, wearing special clothing and great celebrations. Although in the “lottery” there is less happiness in their gatherings, the adults are mostly busy in small talks with each other while the children participating in a game. The main similarity in these two descriptions it...
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...Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” was published in a 1948 issue of The New Yorker and this horror story, written about a annual tradition of heinously stoning someone to death, quickly lead to a mass controversy to all who read it. The simple text was quickly and easily written in one afternoon, after Jackson got home from pushing her daughter up the hill in a stroller (Coulthard 227). The normalcy in which “The Lottery was written created a mixed menagerie of reactions from confusion to the extremity of outrage and even hatred. “The Lottery” single handedly turned the entire subscription base against her, which happen to include her own mother. Perhaps because there is no known origin of this ritual in “The Lottery”, there is no character to...
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...stand there and watch something bad happening. To be a specta-tor and take a distance to the wrong thing what is happening. Just standing there as a spectator, without taking any action without doing anything and being just as responsible as the per-son/persons committing the bad thing. In the two short stories: ‘The Lottery’ and ‘The Ones Who Walks Away From Omelas’, we see spectators who doesn’t take any action, and just look away from all the bad thing happening in their town. When you compare the two stories and look and the atmosphere, characters, and the theme you will see the similarities and the difference be-tween the two short stories. Both short stories begin with a harmonious setting and atmosphere. They both begin with descrip-tion of a beautiful summer day. “The flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” - The Lottery, p. 25 l. 4-5. “Old moss-grown gardens and under avenues of trees,” - The Ones Who Walks Away From Omelas, p.35 l. 5. The setting and the atmosphere is very peacefully in both stories, and you get the impression that the life in the town in both stories are in harmony. But then the atmosphere changes in the lottery it happens when we are introduced to the black box the people from the town are all scared of what is going to happen, and whose name will be drawn from the black box. In the end all the children are excited about stoning the person who was drawn from the black box. In Omelas we first experience an atmosphere change...
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...“The Lottery” and its Outdated Traditions The story, “The Lottery” has many themes to it, all dealing with the corrupted practices of society. The story was written by Shirley Jackson in the year 1948. During this time, there was a lot of corruption and practices that were unjust. The themes that occur in this story are; people not rejecting outdated traditions and ideas, the evil ways of ordinary people, sacrifices for community sins and conformity. Jackson brings these practices to light and exposes them for what they really are. “The Lottery” is about a small town in which a lottery is held on every June 27th. It is a tradition that has been taking place for a many decades. The lottery is not the type of lottery held today, however, it is a lottery to ultimately sacrifice someone’s life. Shirley Jackson wrote this story to shock her audience. She wanted to show a tradition that is highly corrupted taking place in a small and what seems to be, a normal town. The word, “tradition” means inherited or established customs or actions, In the story, some townsmen are talking about other towns getting rid of their lottery. The Old Man Warner says, “Nothing but trouble in that, pack of young fools.”(Jackson) He is referring to the other villages that have abolished this tradition. He also states that it is the seventy-seventh time he has attended the lottery, as if to say it has been around for a long time and will continue to be around. The people of this village are committing...
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...Stanley Edgar Hyman. Throughout the years Shirley went on to create several novels, one in particular is The Lottery. In The Lottery Shirley uses irony to provide readers with a twisted tale that shocks readers in the end. The plot as a whole is filled with ironic twists. All of the villagers seemed to act very nonchalant considering the seriousness of the consequences of the lottery. We see how the villagers of the small New England town abandon their normal lives to gather and conduct their annual lottery. The townspeople prepare themselves by gathering many rocks for the ceremony as if this was a day to day activity. The sole purpose for the lottery is for human sacrifice which was suggested that the townspeople feared that their crops will not be full and hearty. Shirley Jackson proves that the villagers don’t plan on ending the traditional ceremony which has a long history. Even after hearing the other towns ending the lottery, he dismisses them as “crazy fools,” and states that if the lottery stops, they will be forced to eat “chickweed and acorns.” What’s so ironic about The Lottery is that it is so deeply embedded in the townspeople and even though they can’t remember the original reason for the lottery they continue to hold on anyhow. According to the dictionary lottery means to distribute something among people by lot or by chance and the lucky winner of the lottery reaps the benefits of his/her luck and wins the prize of whatever being drawn. However, in...
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...“The lottery,” symbolism is used to hint at the overall theme of the story. In Shirley Jackson's short story “The Lottery,” symbolism is used to hint at the overall theme of the story. The lottery in this particular story is not used for good fortune but instead is used for death and sacrifice. Jackson combines characters, objects, and actions to create the symbolism. There are many characters, both major and minor, that demonstrate symbolism in this story. Jackson uses seemingly normal people from an apparently normal town. The postman is named Mr. Graves, a name that symbolizes death. He holds a leading role as an official in the lottery. Mr. Summers is another character who holds a major role. His name projects thoughts of summer and the season of life. His name is ironic due to the dark ritual and the part he plays in the lottery. Jackson uses various symbols to portray this grim event along with particular elements that hint towards the ending of the story. The story shows the coldness people can have which can be seen in their values and tradition. The black box is a symbol of the past. The color black represents evil or death. The box embodies the past and shows what’s to come. In the story, the villagers were afraid to even follow Mr. Summer’s idea for making a new box because they did not want to upset tradition. While the lottery was taking place, Mr. Adams said to old man Warner, “over in the north village they are talking about giving up the lottery… “Pack...
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...Thesis: (The Rocking –Horse Winner and The Lottery shows the difference between what love consists of and the lack of love and compassion) Paper Outline I. Introduction a. The Rocking –Horse and The Lottery shows the danger of conformity II. Paragraph 1 Thesis Statement a. In "The Rocking-Horse Winner," the mother feels she has to cover up fault," and she feels like she has to prove her worth even though no one particular is forcing her or asking her. b. The mother wants the discreet servants to become part of the upper class and including her son. She wants him to understand her needs, choosing to sacrifice his life. c. Paul loves his mother so much that he’s willing to risk himself when his mother is desperate, to try to give her whatever...
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...“The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson that depicts a small village and its citizens as they perform a ritualistic ceremony of human sacrifice once a year to ensure an abundant yield of crops. During the ceremony, Mr. summers; one of the village leaders takes his position on a platform, and places a vestige of a black box is placed on a three-legged stool. Inside is a majority of small unmarked strips of paper. However, one has a tiny black dot marked in the center. The unlucky recipient of the winning lottery ticket is then brutally sacrificed for the better of the Village. A film adaptation of the story has been made with a number of differences and similarities in things such as theme, setting and characters. When comparing and contrasting “The Lottery” in the short story and film version’s setting is a major factor. The film opens with a young man named Jason Smith leading a seemingly ordinary life in Boston working as a tow truck operator and spending time with his girlfriend, far from events of the short story. When Jason's father falls ill, he explains to Jason, he would like his ashes spread next to Jason's mothers grave in the town of New Hope....
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