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Causing Unrest In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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What is causing increasing unrest in Puerto Rico? Puerto Rico is angry with the United States government because they are being overlooked in Congress. Residents of Puerto Rico are denied basic rights and aid due to the victimization and neglect of the United States government. Persecution is felt by all residents of Puerto Rico because of the mistreatment that they receive. Democracy does not stretch to Puerto Rico, as they have little to no representation in Congress. The process of becoming a state is long and difficult, making Puerto Rico's issues very challenging to change. Using the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, Puerto Rico's challenges and unrest can be compared and more easily described. First, the residents in Puerto Rico are neglected and persecuted by the United States government. According to "US Policy toward its Territories: A Complex and Perhaps Intractable Problem", Puerto Ricans are considered full United States citizens, but they are denied the ability to vote in elections (Colón-Morera, 2017). Also, the federal government will not aid Puerto Rico in a crisis because it is not an independent nation (Colón-Morera, 2017). In "The Lottery", the individual being stoned holds her hands out desperately …show more content…

Even the locally elected leaders of Puerto Rico are subordinate to the greater federal courts (Colón-Morera, 2017). Conversely, one may argue that Puerto Rico is not a state and should not be able to participate in Congress. In "The Lottery", the villagers are in a similar position as Puerto Ricans because much like Puerto Rico does not have representation to defend themselves, the villagers do not have a system in place to cease the lottery (Jackson, 1948). Democracy is violated because all United State citizens should be able to voice their opinions, but Puerto Rico is unable to do

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