Society: Masked In Civilization
People are only as good as where they come from; they are only as good as what society can tell them to be. Humans derived from cave men and, as some people may argue, monkeys. The animals and people which we view as savage, we came from. Shirley Jackson argues in “The Lottery” that this savage behavior is still embedded in human nature. In this short story, a seemingly ordinary village holds an annual lottery that takes a turn for the dark side. “The Lottery,” portrays society as barbaric, only masking their true behavior under the illusion of civilization as shown by the details Jackson uses to describe the setting and the townspeople. Jackson expresses the façade of civilization through her descriptions …show more content…
For instance, the children, who are naïve and innocent, take the stoning lightly and treat it as a game. In the second paragraph of the story, the young boys of the town collect stones and defend their piles from the other children. Although this may seem ordinary, it is later revealed that the reason behind their collection was to stone one of their fellow townspeople, the unlucky winner of the lottery, to death. Stonings date back to barbaric times where it was seen as a form of amusement, an event similar to the Roman times where men fought to the death in a public arena for the entertainment of others. Although these traditions are outdated and no longer practiced because society has become more civilized, the barbaric disposition of humans still exist, even in children. Additionally, the townspeople are cruel to the point of including small children in the lottery. Once Mr. Hutchinson drew the fatal slip of paper, his entire family had to enter the second part of the lottery without regards to their age. To demonstrate, their youngest child was so young that Mr. Graves is told, “Harry you hold [the paper] for him.” A child who could barely pick and hold the paper and his sister, a 12 year old child, was put up for a stoning. The townspeople are savage enough to put small children up for a painful death, and if “little Dave” had drawn the wrong slip, the townspeople …show more content…
They blend into the image of civilization, yet are rooted in savage disposition. Jackson portrays in her short story that humans are inherently barbaric, no matter how civilized society may morph them. Although the citizens and the town appeared as natural and familiar, their deeper propensity to act savagely will always remain so much that they torture their closest companions to death without a second thought. As much as people may think of themselves as ordinary, it is merely a social construct. What people view as normal or common is strictly determined by society’s idea of civilization; but as Jackson believes, it can all fall apart when human nature emerges from its current suppressed state. Ultimately, society today will fall back into old habits; it is merely a question of who will lose
People are only as good as where they come from; they are only as good as what society can tell them to be. Humans derived from cave men and, as some people may argue, monkeys. The animals and people which we view as savage, we came from. Shirley Jackson argues in “The Lottery” that this savage behavior is still embedded in human nature. In this short story, a seemingly ordinary village holds an annual lottery that takes a turn for the dark side. “The Lottery,” portrays society as barbaric, only masking their true behavior under the illusion of civilization as shown by the details Jackson uses to describe the setting and the townspeople. Jackson expresses the façade of civilization through her descriptions …show more content…
For instance, the children, who are naïve and innocent, take the stoning lightly and treat it as a game. In the second paragraph of the story, the young boys of the town collect stones and defend their piles from the other children. Although this may seem ordinary, it is later revealed that the reason behind their collection was to stone one of their fellow townspeople, the unlucky winner of the lottery, to death. Stonings date back to barbaric times where it was seen as a form of amusement, an event similar to the Roman times where men fought to the death in a public arena for the entertainment of others. Although these traditions are outdated and no longer practiced because society has become more civilized, the barbaric disposition of humans still exist, even in children. Additionally, the townspeople are cruel to the point of including small children in the lottery. Once Mr. Hutchinson drew the fatal slip of paper, his entire family had to enter the second part of the lottery without regards to their age. To demonstrate, their youngest child was so young that Mr. Graves is told, “Harry you hold [the paper] for him.” A child who could barely pick and hold the paper and his sister, a 12 year old child, was put up for a stoning. The townspeople are savage enough to put small children up for a painful death, and if “little Dave” had drawn the wrong slip, the townspeople …show more content…
They blend into the image of civilization, yet are rooted in savage disposition. Jackson portrays in her short story that humans are inherently barbaric, no matter how civilized society may morph them. Although the citizens and the town appeared as natural and familiar, their deeper propensity to act savagely will always remain so much that they torture their closest companions to death without a second thought. As much as people may think of themselves as ordinary, it is merely a social construct. What people view as normal or common is strictly determined by society’s idea of civilization; but as Jackson believes, it can all fall apart when human nature emerges from its current suppressed state. Ultimately, society today will fall back into old habits; it is merely a question of who will lose