Have you ever been blamed for something repeatedly and it is never you fault? This is called a scapegoat. “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson is a story based on a town who conducts an annual lottery. Jackson, the author, wrote this story to entertain the audience. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” written by Flannery O 'Connor is also a story written to entertain the audience. The story is about a family who takes a family road trip. In “The Lottery” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the authors present scapegoats of Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson and Grandma, respectively, in order to suggest that many individuals play a role in their own deaths just like these scapegoats did to theirs.
By definition a scapegoat is “a person or group made to bear …show more content…
The reason for doing the “lottery” is not stated however the reason is in the story. Old Man Warner says “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” This meaning that the lottery I held to help out with the crops. It was understood that they chose a winner every year so that the crops will grow better. It was a type of sacrifice. The winner of the lottery was stoned to death. These stones were part of a ritual that were written as a part of the rules of the lottery. In the story the narrator says "the villagers still remember to use the stones". The stoning is also a good way to get everyone involved, it’s used as a “crowd-generated death”. It allows everyone in the village to participate. Another symbolic figure in “The Lottery” is the black box used as part of the lottery. The black box is used to pull the pieces of paper with the black dot on them to specify the winner. First the dad chooses then the other people of the household choose. The black box is very symbolic in this story, it is part of the ritual. However it is not the original box as the narrator says “although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones”. The town is very organized. It is small and everyone knows each other. There were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o 'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner” (Jackson). The message that was taken from “The Lottery” is keeping tradition and following rituals even though they involve sacrificing someone you
By definition a scapegoat is “a person or group made to bear …show more content…
The reason for doing the “lottery” is not stated however the reason is in the story. Old Man Warner says “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” This meaning that the lottery I held to help out with the crops. It was understood that they chose a winner every year so that the crops will grow better. It was a type of sacrifice. The winner of the lottery was stoned to death. These stones were part of a ritual that were written as a part of the rules of the lottery. In the story the narrator says "the villagers still remember to use the stones". The stoning is also a good way to get everyone involved, it’s used as a “crowd-generated death”. It allows everyone in the village to participate. Another symbolic figure in “The Lottery” is the black box used as part of the lottery. The black box is used to pull the pieces of paper with the black dot on them to specify the winner. First the dad chooses then the other people of the household choose. The black box is very symbolic in this story, it is part of the ritual. However it is not the original box as the narrator says “although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones”. The town is very organized. It is small and everyone knows each other. There were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o 'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner” (Jackson). The message that was taken from “The Lottery” is keeping tradition and following rituals even though they involve sacrificing someone you