“We stopped checking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside of us.”
For hundreds of years, philosophers have mused over the primitive, yet complicated question: is human nature inherently good or evil? Authors of the gothic fiction genre seem to believe that humanity at its core is wicked. Two hair-raising short stories, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," comparatively use gothic fiction as a vehicle to disclose the perverse nature of humankind using women in distress, mystery, and the ambiance of the story.
By featuring women in distress, these two short stories analogously display how an environment of perverseness can lead to the death of innocent females.
In "The Lottery," …show more content…
He confesses that “even Pluto” was eventually beaten, insinuating that his wife, one of his first victims of maltreatment, meant less to him than his cat. The wife shares his initial love for animals, buying many of the family pets. The is perhaps to please her husband, and in exchange, he maliciously abuses her. She is a kind and sympathetic character. She is killed when she tries to save the life of the second cat, and instead, loses her own. This makes her story is all the more tragic, yet the narrator feels guiltless, displaying his evil nature. Therefore, both Poe and Jackson use the deaths of women in distress to show the perverse nature of …show more content…
Although "The Lottery" strives to remain realistic, there are still enigmatic incidents that leave the reader chilled. It is baffling how Tessie, who is a black sheep from the start, just happens to chosen to be physically exiled, while she is already socially exiled. One may question if the lottery was fate, a coincidence, or a conspiracy. This leads to the speculation that the culling of Tessie may have been planned, which reinforces the perverse nature of the society.
What makes the story so riveting relies entirely on mystery. As Jackson unravels the tale and each hint is unveiled, and the reader becomes more and more curious, wondering what the result of winning must be.
[T]here was a long pause, a breathless pause, until Mr. Summers, holding his slip of paper in the air, said, “All right, fellows.” For a minute, no one moved, and then all the slips of paper were opened. Suddenly, women began to speak at once, saying, “Who is it?,” “who’s got it?,”
For hundreds of years, philosophers have mused over the primitive, yet complicated question: is human nature inherently good or evil? Authors of the gothic fiction genre seem to believe that humanity at its core is wicked. Two hair-raising short stories, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," comparatively use gothic fiction as a vehicle to disclose the perverse nature of humankind using women in distress, mystery, and the ambiance of the story.
By featuring women in distress, these two short stories analogously display how an environment of perverseness can lead to the death of innocent females.
In "The Lottery," …show more content…
He confesses that “even Pluto” was eventually beaten, insinuating that his wife, one of his first victims of maltreatment, meant less to him than his cat. The wife shares his initial love for animals, buying many of the family pets. The is perhaps to please her husband, and in exchange, he maliciously abuses her. She is a kind and sympathetic character. She is killed when she tries to save the life of the second cat, and instead, loses her own. This makes her story is all the more tragic, yet the narrator feels guiltless, displaying his evil nature. Therefore, both Poe and Jackson use the deaths of women in distress to show the perverse nature of …show more content…
Although "The Lottery" strives to remain realistic, there are still enigmatic incidents that leave the reader chilled. It is baffling how Tessie, who is a black sheep from the start, just happens to chosen to be physically exiled, while she is already socially exiled. One may question if the lottery was fate, a coincidence, or a conspiracy. This leads to the speculation that the culling of Tessie may have been planned, which reinforces the perverse nature of the society.
What makes the story so riveting relies entirely on mystery. As Jackson unravels the tale and each hint is unveiled, and the reader becomes more and more curious, wondering what the result of winning must be.
[T]here was a long pause, a breathless pause, until Mr. Summers, holding his slip of paper in the air, said, “All right, fellows.” For a minute, no one moved, and then all the slips of paper were opened. Suddenly, women began to speak at once, saying, “Who is it?,” “who’s got it?,”