What Are The Similarities Between The Lottery And The Crucible

On account of the fear for her life, she falsely accuses innocent people of practicing witchcraft, and others soon follow suit. After she and the other girls were discovered in the forest dancing, she knew that they would be whipped and possibly hung. Abigail claims that they were bewitched, and begins to utter names of those who were 'with the devil'. The accused are forced to falsely blame other innocent people in order to angle the allegation to others to avoid punishment. This turns into complete chaos.

Have you ever changed something about yourself to fit in with a certain group of people, or maybe even if you did something that you did not want to do, only to fit in? Conformity is the process in which one adjusts one's behavior and beliefs to be accepted by other people. Some stories that effectively portray the dangers of conformity are, “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller, the novel “Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, and, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, these three stories show three different kinds of conformity, and what it can do a person or society. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts in 1692, it tells a fictional story about a town in Salem involved in witch hunts. The people in Salem are in a constant state of fear about whether they will become bewitched or be accused of

(Jackson, p 51). The stones go on to suggest the cruelty of the people of the village as it provides a slow and painful death. “The Lottery” demonstrates how a tradition that drives the society can be completely forgotten through the years. While

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is the story of two times in our country’s history in which we gave in completely to our paranoia, causing mass hysteria. Although The Crucible takes place in Salem Massachusetts during the colonial era, Arthur miller wrote the play as a reflection of the social and political situation happening in his time of McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare. The universal theme of religion, and how far people are willing to go when they believe they are carrying out their god’s will, is represented in the conflict between religious-based decisions of the court in Salem and the people in town who were accused and prosecuted due to rash, religious, decisions, complete blind faith in God, and the ability to justify one's actions

Tradition is powerful in both “The Lottery” and “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”. In “The Lottery” several characters hint that the community’s

Jackson shocks the reader with this event as one would not expect to win the possibility of death from a lottery. His point comes together here as the townspeople follow

While real life traditions are rarely so extreme, Jackson’s exaggerated fictional example emphasizes her point to great effect. By the end of the story, the audience is convinced that the town is wrong to uphold the lottery tradition, but Jackson is not really writing about a lottery; she is writing about how damaging it can

A portion of the town’s men and women were accused by a group of teenage girls for practicing witchcraft, to cover up their use own of witchcraft. Although the town is built on purity and honesty, there is no reason to trust these girls besides their use of persuasion. These girls had performed an act of witchcraft and contacted the devil with the help of a fair maid, Tituba. When they were caught in the exploit, one of the young girls, Abigail, was fearful. She decided to go upon her pursuit of repairing this situation by persuading the rest of the girls to join her and lie to the remainder of the town about being involved with witchcraft.

A tradition that stands for bringing communities together can quickly become a tradition that tears communities apart. Jackson continues to tell the story through a series of symbols present throughout. For instance, the black decaying box, from which the lottery is raffled in, closely represents the decaying tradition of the lottery, with the chipping black paint, that once represented the power of authority, is now falling apart, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” (Jackson, 2). With essentials characters and a narrative that caters to foreshadowing the sinister events that are yet to follow.

As a coherent set of views manifested through interpersonal interaction, political ideologies become a significant aspect of the human experience which is susceptible to manipulation and interpretation. The ramifications of political and moral issues of Arthur Miller’s milieu are encapsulated in his1953 play The Crucible, an allegory of the Salem witchcraft trials influenced by his personal context of the McCarthy Era. The political representation in The Crucible aligns with Shirley Jackson’s 1948 short story The Lottery, a powerful allegory of barbarism and social sacrifice. Both texts exhibit the behavioural patterns of individuals as a result of traditional, religious and patriotic values. Therefore, the composer’s political motivation is purposefully addressed through representation and it’s medium of production.

In her story "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson implies the negative consequences of blindly following tradition through the acceptance, by the villagers, of the tradition of the lottery. Jackson suggests that the people of the village are afraid to give up the little tradition they have, even if it is not good. Every year after the lottery, the conductor of the lottery, Mr. Summers suggests that they should build a new box but, “No one [likes] to upset even as much tradition as [is] represented by the box.” (Jackson, 1). The black box symbolizes ritual and tradition.

“Change does not change tradition. it Strengths it. change is a challenge and an opportunity. not a threat”, according to prince Philips from England. In relation to The crucible and “The lottery” both didn't want to change their customs because of what people could think.

Shirley Jackson’s “The lottery” is a story based on tradition. When hearing the word tradition, most people think of team rituals before games, or something families do together annually. However, Jackson is obviously not like most people. She builds up a fair amount of tension around this ritual that is taking place to make readers wonder what is going on. She uses many different techniques to show that sometimes, traditions are not always meant to go on forever.

Throughout centuries, traditions and rituals have had the ability to control one’s behavior. In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, she tells the reader of a small village. On the surface, this community may seem relatively normal. However, despite the picturesque appeal, this falsely serene village has a distinct deceitful flaw. On June 27th, every year, a lottery takes place.

This story still remains relevant in comparison to today. Simple towns people who speak to each other on a daily basis and joke around with each other all of the sudden turn around and kill one of their one. This story symbolized the change of heart within people when events go on. With various symbols, Shirley Jackson created the short story, The Lottery, to show society and what it has been and what it could be. One might even say that Jackson wanted to keep it in the mind of a ‘modern’ society that such things could happen again.