The Lottery And Harrison Bergeron Analysis

Nobody likes to follow the rules, but following them too blindly can detrimental. Too bad the citizens in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” can’t seem to realize this. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, an old village holds an annual ritualistic “lottery” that takes place to limit the population size by means of stoning the “lucky winner” to death. Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is satirical dystopian short story set in a futuristic society where its citizens are forced to wear handicaps that make them “equal” intellectually and physically. Both of these short stories seek to express a deeper meaning: societies where the citizens are too blinded by the order are never good. While Vonnegut takes a …show more content…
In “The politics of Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Harrison Bergeron’”, Darryl Hattenhauer states that “Critics have missed the object of the text’s satire because they miss the irony of the narration…Part of the reason they miss narration’s unreliability is that the plot hides the irony until the end.” The readers of “Harrison Bergeron” are led to believe that the society in which the citizens are equal due to extreme measures put in place is a bit flawed, but nothing too out of the ordinary since it is clearly a satirical piece. It isn’t until the main character is shot and killed by the Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers for revealing himself to be better than the rest of society. In “The Lottery”, the readers are led to believe that they this annual lottery is something that every town should look forward to, but it isn’t until the end when the reader realizes the lottery is not about money, but actually about death, that causes them to be taken …show more content…
So, the title of the story would be ironic. In Zhu Yuhan’s essay “Ironies in the Lottery”, Yuhan “The story evolves in a way totally different from our perception: the lotter here is not about millions of money; it is about death. The winner of the lottery is actually a pitiful loser.” This is true, as the winner of the lottery does not receive a monetary prize or a prize of high value, rather the winner of the lottery is stoned to death. So, instead of Tessie Hutchinson willing thousands of dollars, she loses her valuable life (Yuhan, “Ironies in the Lottery”). Shirley Jackson uses the title to catch the readers’ attention, and then creates a contrast with what the readers assume will happen and what actually happens. This helps Jackson show how what we perceive to be great can be totally different (and dangerous) in other