Melissa Machado
Mrs. De Bartolo
ENG 2D1
Monday March 17th 2014
What are Your Odds of Being Stoned?
The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins and The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson are two stories that value tradition. Tradition is valued to such an extent that even those who do not agree keep quiet. The Lottery is about a group of town’s people drawing slips of paper praying they do not get the paper marked with the black dot which means immediate death. The Hunger Games is about an annual reaping taking place in District Twelve. A reaping like no other, the protagonist Katniss Everdeen volunteers to participate in the blood bath competition in place of her younger sister Prim. Katniss places herself in a situation with very minimal chances of survival. Both authors demonstrate the value and harms of tradition in both stories. Despite elements such as theme, characters and setting could not be any more different
Although both stories share the same topic that is tradition and how nobody thinks to challenge it, the two detailed stories portray very different themes based upon this one topic. Suzanne Collins and the directors of The Hunger games take audience members and readers on a journey all about the love and sacrifice Katniss Everdeen demonstrates. Katniss demonstrates true sacrifice by volunteering to participate in the annual hunger games in place of her sister Prim. The love she has for her mother, sister and dear friend Gale is what is pulling her through the competition. Suzanne did a phenomenal job of leaving readers and viewers with the message that humans will do anything for their loved ones even if it means sacrificing something as important as our own life in Katniss’ situation. On the other hand, The Lottery’s theme was strictly on the damages and horror of tradition itself. Due to the lack of rebellion against this harsh tradition Mrs. Hutchinson was stoned to death. The death of Mrs. Hutchinson will not only affect her family but everyone in the community since she was a very liked and well known member of this small town. Due to the lack of rebellion and voice in both stories, tradition has caused tragedy and sometimes not even sacrifice and love can repair what has already been done.
The Review on The Short Story Is Not a Single Genre
The short story, whist difficult to define, has a number of common traits which can be attributed to each story. John Bowland admits: “In truth there have been hundreds of efforts to define this most elusive and tantalising of fictional forms.” Whilst it can be claimed the short story genre is impossible to classify, attempts include that of Pritchett, who believes: “The novel tells us everything, ...
Secondly, the main characters known as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and Mrs. Hutchinson from The Lottery could not be any more different. Both Characters are placed in a tough situation where both of their lives could potentially be at risk. Katniss’ younger sister Prim was chosen to represent district twelve in the annual hunger games. Without hesitating, Katniss volunteers as tribute without thinking about the chances of her own personal survival. Throughout the novel and movie Katniss comes off across as a very kind, loving woman who would do absolutely anything for anyone whom she loves, it is rare that Katniss is ever thinking about herself and being selfish in any way. On the other hand, the second Mr. Hutchinson drew the paper with the black dot Mrs. Hutchinson started whaling that it is unfair and how a re- draw should take place. Mrs. Hutchinson knew that there was a great chance that she would be stoned to death and automatically started to panic. Instead of comforting her children and husband and praying that it would be her and not one of her beloved family members. Mrs. Hutchinson came across as a little self-centred unlike Katniss when placed into similar situations based upon the harsh reality of these traditions.
Finally, setting has a huge impact on the atmosphere of a story and although both stories were very tragic their settings were completely different. In The Lottery, the story took place in a cute small town where everyone seemed to know everyone. The sun was shining; neighbours were out chit chatting as they watch their young kids run bye in huge groups. Everything seemed to be perfect within this small town. It was a major plot twist to find out that the members of this happy community would stone anyone who claimed the paper with the deadly black dot. On the other hand, district twelve in The Hunger Games was gloomy and dark. While watching the film anyone could realize that this was not a happy story and that something was bound to go wrong.
The Essay on Hunger Games Evaluation
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins had me interested because it deals with a sixteen year-old girl that goes through a drastic change after some events that happen in her life. The Hunger Games is about a girl, Katniss, that volunteers to take the place of her 12 year-old sister, Prim, in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a televised event in which a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and ...
Conclusively, both The Lottery and The Hunger games value tradition so much and there is absolutely no rebellion or voice coming from the people. This is because of one main factor, fear. Harsh punishment will be granted on anyone who goes against the tradition because for most people that is all they know. In The Hunger Games, it is the seventy fourth annual Hunger Games and in The Lottery this tradition has been going on in the town as long as any of the town members can remember. Although the stories are very different when you contrast the themes, characters and setting they are both controlled by fear.
