Shirley Jacksons The Lottery and Negative Human Behavior
The Lottery and Negative Human Behavior Shirley Jacksons, The Lottery, blends various negative qualities of human behavior into a horrific tale set in a small village. ... Human beings tend to make unfair distinctions between men and women in their society as well as make judgments on ones usefulness to society. One thing that is consistent in this story and can be related to all of the negative human behavioral traits in this essay is revealed in the authors most powerful line of the story, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. ... In The Lottery, the author illustrates a town that is preparing to partake in one of their own traditions. ... This seems to underline the notion that these villagers are blindly accepting of the lottery, as if it were not to result in the death of one of their friends or family, but just any other town event. In describing how long the lottery has been performed, the author writes, “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. ... The officials have even made some minor modifications to how the lottery is handled and this is pointed out in the authors following words, “Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. ... Adams broaches the subject of how other villages have done away with the lottery but is quickly shut down by Old Man Warner with, “pack of crazy fools. ... Hutchinsons own children partake in the heartlessness as Shirley Jackson writes, “Nancy and Bill, Jr. ... ” (74) 4 The writer of The Lottery exposes the rank of diverse societal classes in her story. ... Dunbar is home knitting sweaters to sell at the county flea market but it is inferred that he is home on his back relying on his wife to shoulder the burden of the lottery.