Dystopian texts are texts that are set in an unpleasant society that appears perfect, too perfect like a utopia but in fact has dark secrets and promotes inhumanity, disguised as a better way of living. The dystopian text that will be discussed in this essay are; Kurt Vonnegut’s 2BR02B and Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery. In this essay I will explain how both texts are similar despite a few differences because they have similar themes and characters, and despite their settings being almost completely opposite, they have the same effect on us readers.
One of the most important characteristics of a short story is the theme, the main idea.
2BR02B and The Lottery both have a similar theme or idea. The idea is that killing is not cruel and there …show more content…
In this short story also, killing does not seem like such a crime and here also it is promoted. In The Lottery, Jackson has created a town with a population of a mere 300 and all the townsfolk seem very close. There is this one annual event that everyone looks forward to called the Lottery but it is not revealed until the end that the Lottery winner does not get a reward but instead gets stoned to death. Nobody remembers how this tradition started but they still give it so much importance. ‘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.’ In this quote we see that even though the town believes that this is an important tradition, that is really not the case. ‘Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.’ In this quote it is shown that nobody actually cared why or how this traditions came to be but they continued it anyway because in a sick way they enjoyed the stoning to death. That was the only thing they did correctly, the killing. Nobody in this society understands that a life is a very precious thing and that it should not be gambled like this. Just like in 2BR02B, in The Lottery the whole society is oblivious to the meaning of life and they do not understand that everyone has the right to …show more content…
Dr Hitz and Leora Duncan are shown as the antagonists in this story as they both believe population control is more important than everyone’s happiness. They were both very selfish as they would never give up their own lives for that cause but they made sure everyone else was dedicated to this so called population control theory. In the end of the story, both Leora and the Dr are shot dead, much to the satisfaction of the readers because they got what they deserved. The painter’s thoughts were what made the readers think the most. ‘The painter pondered the mournful puzzle of life demanding to be born and, once born, demanding to be fruitful ... to multiply and to live as long as possible--to do all that on a very small planet that would have to last forever. All the answers that the painter could think of were grim. Even grimmer, surely, than a Catbox, a Happy Hooligan, an Easy Go. He thought of war. He thought of plague. He thought of starvation. He knew that he would never paint again.’ This quote makes the readers think about the reality of life and understand that perfection is overrated. It is
One of the most important characteristics of a short story is the theme, the main idea.
2BR02B and The Lottery both have a similar theme or idea. The idea is that killing is not cruel and there …show more content…
In this short story also, killing does not seem like such a crime and here also it is promoted. In The Lottery, Jackson has created a town with a population of a mere 300 and all the townsfolk seem very close. There is this one annual event that everyone looks forward to called the Lottery but it is not revealed until the end that the Lottery winner does not get a reward but instead gets stoned to death. Nobody remembers how this tradition started but they still give it so much importance. ‘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.’ In this quote we see that even though the town believes that this is an important tradition, that is really not the case. ‘Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.’ In this quote it is shown that nobody actually cared why or how this traditions came to be but they continued it anyway because in a sick way they enjoyed the stoning to death. That was the only thing they did correctly, the killing. Nobody in this society understands that a life is a very precious thing and that it should not be gambled like this. Just like in 2BR02B, in The Lottery the whole society is oblivious to the meaning of life and they do not understand that everyone has the right to …show more content…
Dr Hitz and Leora Duncan are shown as the antagonists in this story as they both believe population control is more important than everyone’s happiness. They were both very selfish as they would never give up their own lives for that cause but they made sure everyone else was dedicated to this so called population control theory. In the end of the story, both Leora and the Dr are shot dead, much to the satisfaction of the readers because they got what they deserved. The painter’s thoughts were what made the readers think the most. ‘The painter pondered the mournful puzzle of life demanding to be born and, once born, demanding to be fruitful ... to multiply and to live as long as possible--to do all that on a very small planet that would have to last forever. All the answers that the painter could think of were grim. Even grimmer, surely, than a Catbox, a Happy Hooligan, an Easy Go. He thought of war. He thought of plague. He thought of starvation. He knew that he would never paint again.’ This quote makes the readers think about the reality of life and understand that perfection is overrated. It is