The
Lottery V.S The Hunger
Games
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| A rock which symbolizes the violent method the villagers in The Lottery use to kill |
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Lottery By Shirley Jackson both show how humans are drawn to
violent traditions and the hypocrisy human’s posses towards violence. The texts
themes deal with problems society and violence have.
Both
texts show humans are drawn to violent traditions. The villagers in the lottery follow the annual stoning
ritual. The villagers systematically choose someone through a lottery and in
the end the one chosen is stoned to death. The villagers forgot exactly why
they do the lottery tradition but they follow it because it gives them a simple
solution for the growing population and for a better harvest they believe, as
mentioned by Old Man Warner, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” Likewise in the Hunger Games, the Capitol residents watch the traditionally
televised hunger games as entertainment. Selected twenty four youth from
various districts are forced to kill one another in a televised reality show
which the Capitol openly celebrates with grand parades and champion tours for
example. Katniss Everdeens thought, “Taking the kids from our districts,
forcing them to kill one another while we watch in horror…” is how the twelve
districts feel about the games. The luxurious Capitol has a pleasurable feel
towards the games because of the extravagant celebrations and violent
entertainment they get from it.
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| The poor, poverty stricken District 12 |
Both
stories demonstrate the hypocrisy humans possess towards violence. Tessie
Hutchinson from the Lottery changes
her emotion completely after she is chosen to be stoned. Tessie comes to the
lottery with a content attitude towards the event even joking with Mr.Summers
by saying, “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?”
After Tessie is ultimately chosen as winner of the lottery, her attitude
changes drastically towards the old tradition. “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,”
Tessie Hutchinson screams in the end when all the villagers are upon her. The
reader can suggest that if someone else was in her position, she would be
alongside the villagers, throwing the stones at the victim. There is a huge
contrast between her emotions from her introduction to her death which show she
is a hypocrite towards the violence committed. Likewise in the Hunger Games, the twelve districts youth are forced by the
Capitol to fight in a televised death for entertainment. The Capitol promotes
the games even though they are brutal and bloody. The Capitol doesn’t even have
to send their own youth to the games because they know they are deadly.
Furthermore, they would view these games as entertainment while the districts
viewed them as a violent oppression scheme the Capitol devises to control them.
If instead the Capitol would have to force their own youth to the death match
as well they would get the oppressed and terrified feeling the districts get.
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| The wealthy, elite Capitol |
The two texts both show the
problems with violence and society weather it is with the Capitol people in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or
the villagers in The Lottery by
Shirley Jackson. The hypocrisy human’s posses towards violence and how humans
are drawn to violent traditions are both shown in the texts themes.
