What Of This Goldfish Would You Wish And The Lottery Essay

Have you ever gotten the chance to give someone else happiness? The stories “What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish”, and “The Lottery” define who we are as a person. The goldfish story defines who we are, because it shows that when we have the chance to make someone else the happiest they can be, we can either choose to take that opportunity or choose happiness for ourselves. Everyday someone is choosing between themselves or others, and your character is shown through the actions you choose. In the lottery story, as morbid as it may seem, people thought they were doing the right thing. Every year they upheld this tradition where citizens would be stoned to death. Everyone would put their name in a raffle, and if they chose the piece of paper …show more content…
In this story a person, who in the town’s eyes were considered lucky, was sacrificed by being stoned to death. They believed that by giving a sacrifice, their crops would be abundant and healthy. In a deeper perspective it may have been a good thing. The death of the individual would relieve them from the stress of the world and the people would be happy with the good crops. Although there is a few that believe being chosen is a good thing, the person still would have to go through with it. The price of Tessie’s life was given for the well being of the others. The crops would feed the people of the village. This means that Tessie gave up her life for the good life of others. A high price that very few people would take for the majority of the group. This shows how we are. Some of the people chosen gave the impression they didn’t want to give up their lives, but they did anyway because they thought it was for the well-being of …show more content…
For instance, one time I gave up my happiness for my sister’s. A couple years back, I got the opportunity to go on a trip to Las Vegas with my two cousins and aunt. Us girls were just going to spend time together, because I hadn’t spend a lot of time with them for a while. I was so excited to go, because I hadn’t been to Las Vegas since I was really little. What made it extra special was that I was going to a concert for the first time. My aunt bought me a ticket to see the Jonas Brothers. At the time, my cousins were obsessed with them, and I followed along in their footsteps. I got a lot of my stuff ready to go, and I couldn’t wait to get to experience this. Although, when I was about to leave, my sister got really sick. She could barely get out of bed. Then, she had asked me to stay with her. As a big sister, I really didn’t want to say no to her. I was deciding back and forth on what to do. Finally, I decided to stay with her. I couldn’t leave her like that, especially when she needed me there. So, I decided that after everything else I had desired, I chose her happiness over mine.

In conclusion, the short story, “What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?” and another short story, “The Lottery” both define who we are. It both consists of someone putting aside their happiness for others, just like our personal experiences. These two stories have both showed that it’s not always about ourselves and our own desires. This