The themes of morality in the society
The story of the lottery occurs in a small village, and tradition is paramount in this place. An annual event referred to as “the lottery” takes place whereby an individual is selected to be stoned by his friends and family. Jackson applies comedy and Irony that portrays the weakness, hypocrisy and evil in the society (Jackson 23). In Ursula’s story, there is a festival in town and all the citizens prepare for celebrations. The people of Omelas are filled with deceitful happiness because there is a secret behind their smiles. Thesis : The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and story by Ursula K. Le Guin, are two stories that show the sacrifices towns people will make for the good of the community.
The main theme in both stories is morality in the society and how people try to strive to make their communities good (Le, Guin 121). Omelas is defined as a good place full of joy. In the first half of the story, Omelas seems to be regarded as a place of Utopia. As the place appears nice, Ursula K. LeGuin defines what people may take as bad things. The people of Omelas do not feel guilty; they fell that there is nothing bad or good about Omelas. A society that lacks guilt is one that may appear to have happy faces. If people do not have guilt in their hearts, it means that they always have happiness in them (Le, Guin 125). Happiness depends on a just discrimination of what is required. It also depends on what is not destructive. This means that happiness sis something that people want to have, guiltlessly. The story has several paradoxes that to an individual’s guilt. The narrative criticizes the community for having many people who always feel happy despite the suffering of other people, including human trafficking or child abuse (Le, Guin 129). People always do anything possible to achieve whatever they need, but at some point, they always forget responsibility and morality. This is quite ironic.
The people of Omelas have happiness but lack freedom. There is great significance of guilt when a child is mentioned in the story. Everything in the Omelas and its livelihood depends on a single child. The people of Omelas and their joy do not reflect “irresponsible happiness” instead it reflects the accountability of assuming the child. The citizens of Omelas are accountable for the joy of the child (Le, Guin 131).These people brood over the jot of the child for a long period. However, this must not be guilt or any form of paradox. Disregarding the joy of thousands of people may bring guilt. Some people feel so guilty that when they see the child, they decide to flee the Omelas. These people must get away from the Omelas since in this town; there is no one with any form of guilt. This proves how much people can sacrifice for the wellbeing of their community. The sacrifice is to move away from the Omelas.
The story shows how the community can create customs and methods of thinking that few groups can stand up. The author reminds the audience on several occasions that people are happy, but phoniness exists (Le, Guin 167). She gives the audience a basis for the setting of the town. The place occurs during the festival of the summer. LeGuin lets the imagination of the audience develop what he or she thinks is authentic. The options include details like whether there is or no alcohol, drugs, technology, sex and religion without reserves (Card 324). The author gives the audience because she wants the audience to take part in the narrative. The author does not want any person or monarchy or king who thinks that they are powerful more than other people in Omelas (Asimov 167). This is because it would develop rebellion, which could destroy the story’s ending. The author gives the audience these options because she wants them to take part in the narrative. The tone in the story is cynical. The author makes the town appear too good to be believable, which is true. The author then describes the small shady broom closet where the child is sitting. The child stayed there for a long period. The child sits in the filthy place when naked and terribly malnourished. The child has no idea of what time it is and fails to see the light unless some people come to observe the child’s anguish. The people of Omelas come to see the child when they are aged eight or twelve years. The people later come to understand why the child was locked up (Card 316). The child was locked because it would be a good thing to feed or clean the child. However, if the people of Omelas would do that in an hour or a day, all the beauty, delight and prosperity of the people of Omelas would be destroyed and withered. The pain and the misery of the child turn out to be the cause of joy for the people in Omelas. For an uncertain reason, the perfection of Omelas depends on the people of Omelas. These people saw and understood what had happened to the child, but they failed to help the child in any way. These people had no choice but to run away from the town of Omelas.
The “Lottery” also demonstrates morality in the society. In the story, the use of friendly language by the villagers shows that the lottery is a festive is welcomed. Jackson talks of the women’s social atmosphere prior to the drawing. The women greeted each other and gossiped amongst each other (Jackson 281). The lottery is done in a certain manner with a lot of anticipation by the villagers. This means that the reader expects some prize to be given to the winner. It is not until the end of the narrative that the audience gets to understand the fate of the winner, which was death by family and friends. At appears that the author is presenting a statement concerning human evil and hypocrisy.
While the narrative fails to become insidious until the end, the author foreshadows the notion through Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers. Mr. Summers is the person in charge of the lottery. He prepares the paper slips to be drawn and mediates the events. The author describes him as a respected man who jokes with the villagers. Mr. Summers was quite good at what he did (Jackson 282). The name summers reveals the mood of the narrative plus the administrator. Mr. Graves represents the underlying theme of the story and its ultimate result. Mr. Summer’s assistant is Mr. Graves who is always available but not in the limelight. The unclear threat to his character hides the malice of the common people. The “Lottery” indicates the weakness in humans (Asimov 287). This town has performed such dreadful acts for several years and continues to do so with the lottery, without being questioned. This is in the same way that people assume the fate of the child in the town of Omelas. The old man Warner argues that the lottery had always been there (Jackson 284). However, the villagers indicated some nervousness towards the issue. People are not comfortable with the event, yet they still go along with the event. No one expresses his disgust towards the lottery but fakes enthusiasm. The author indicates that many people are not confident to deal with their displeasure because they fear rejection in the society. This shows that these people are sacrificing to maintain happiness of other people in the society. Mr. Summers failed to replace the black box for drawing, and this shows that the villagers failed to support their beliefs (Jackson 285). Mr. Summers frequently mentioned to the villagers about creating a new box, but no one wanted to be against the tradition they way the black box presented it. After several years, the box is stained and faded in the same ways the villagers see that reality has turned pitiful and tainted. It is obvious that people fear change in the society.
The author uses Mrs. Hutchinson to indicate how people get consumed by weakness and hypocrisy. Although the author gives a hint that Mrs. Hutchinson attempts to rebel and come to the event, she comes late with a lame excuse that she had forgotten what day it was. It is also sarcastic that wins that lottery despite standing up for her beliefs. What is most shocking about Mrs. Hutchinson is when she reveals her identity. Before the drawing, she acts friendly to other women (Jackson 285). Mrs. Hutchinson was aware that the lottery was not right, but she did nothing about that. She pretended for as long as she could to enjoy the event, although she did not like it all through the event. Perhaps Jackson was proving that the hypocritical and artificial that an individual could be, the more they could be a target. She was the target of her frights.
This instance of the “Lottery” proves that people always tend to flock in malicious gossip even if it has subjects of privacy. It seems that Americans butt in where they do not belong. The author indicates that the Americans do not mind remarking on a person’s adultery until it is themselves who get caught (Jackson 286). They also have no problem when they stereotype other people until when they get stereotyped. It seems that people are always condemning daily truths while they know are characteristics of most people. It is hypocritical and sad that this occurs all the time. The author makes this point without saying any word about it. Jackson is making a report concerning human evil and hypocrisy.
Works Cited
Asimov, Isaac. The Hugo Winners. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1962. Print.
Card, Orson S. Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century. New York: Ace Books,
2001. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education, 1983.
Print.
Le, Guin U. K. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education,
1993. Print.
Le, Guin U. K. The Wind’s Twelve Quarters: Short Stories. New York: Harper & Row, 1975.
Print.
Gioia, Dana, and R S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.
Print.
