In the philosophical short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, she examines the immorality of the human kind. Analogous to “The Lottery,” “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula Le Guin demonstrates the perversion of innocence in both stories. Jackson and Le Guin both craft a society of conformity, scapegoatism, and controversy. The ideals in both short stories conflict with societal norms.
Similarly, both Jackson and Le Guin idolize conformity in their pieces. Before the sacrificial festivities in “The Lottery,” not everyone agreed with the ideal of the ritual. Few questioned why they were still continuing the ritual, when the surrounding towns had outlawed the practice. Although, they were hesitant they conformed to the idea …show more content…
Rather than conforming to a social group, or to seek self identification, they conformed to get rid of their inner suffering. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” was even more sickening than “The Lottery,” because they directly chose a specific person to endure all the suffering. In this case, the person chose to endure the suffering was a mentally challenged child. Many of the people would visit the child, and go into a deep depression once they returned home. However, after a few days they were back to their own lives. Many believed in order to have this perfect society, one had to endure the suffering of others. In this case, the boy can be compared to Christ. The boy was a sacrifice and had to endure the pain of everyone one else. In this case instead of it being salvation he did it for, it was for a utopian society. Although, both short stories participated in scapegoating another, in “The Lottery,” they did for another reason. It was a sense of pride in their tradition, and a release. They needed someone to release their anger, and problems on. Scapegoatism is often found in today’s society. Muslims, the Government,and police officers are current victims of scapegoatism.
Scapegoatism can become quite controversial. Before Tessie’s name was drawn she was elated to be participating in the lottery, but once she was chosen she became distraught. In both short stories,
Similarly, both Jackson and Le Guin idolize conformity in their pieces. Before the sacrificial festivities in “The Lottery,” not everyone agreed with the ideal of the ritual. Few questioned why they were still continuing the ritual, when the surrounding towns had outlawed the practice. Although, they were hesitant they conformed to the idea …show more content…
Rather than conforming to a social group, or to seek self identification, they conformed to get rid of their inner suffering. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” was even more sickening than “The Lottery,” because they directly chose a specific person to endure all the suffering. In this case, the person chose to endure the suffering was a mentally challenged child. Many of the people would visit the child, and go into a deep depression once they returned home. However, after a few days they were back to their own lives. Many believed in order to have this perfect society, one had to endure the suffering of others. In this case, the boy can be compared to Christ. The boy was a sacrifice and had to endure the pain of everyone one else. In this case instead of it being salvation he did it for, it was for a utopian society. Although, both short stories participated in scapegoating another, in “The Lottery,” they did for another reason. It was a sense of pride in their tradition, and a release. They needed someone to release their anger, and problems on. Scapegoatism is often found in today’s society. Muslims, the Government,and police officers are current victims of scapegoatism.
Scapegoatism can become quite controversial. Before Tessie’s name was drawn she was elated to be participating in the lottery, but once she was chosen she became distraught. In both short stories,