Comparing Justice In The Lottery And A Hanging

Throughout the history of mankind, society has defined itself by law and the order that law creates. “Laws are the binding rules of conduct or action which the vast majority of the society has to abide”. Justice on the other hand is rather an abstract concept. There is no right or wrong definition of justice, but is rather agreed upon the concept of being fair and equal. Many would assume that the sole purpose of law is to establish justice, which seems like a wonderful philosophical theory but is slightly difficult to follow. The struggle between law, order and justice has led to conflict and terrorism all over the world. Some of those struggles have been represented in the books The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and A Hanging by George Orwell.

In “The Lottery Mrs. Tess Hutchinson” is the only example of the stories theme being, that our senses of justice and unfairness aren’t activated until we ourselves become the victims of injustice. Mrs. Hutchinson refused to accept the fact that her family, later she herself has won the lottery. She never questioned the lottery and its practice until she became the prey of it. The lottery was conducted every year and ended with someone getting stoned to death, which suggests that she helped but when it was her turn, she felt as it was unfair. When the time arrived for her death she starts protesting, saying "It isn't fair," A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone." This response suggests that her protests have been ignored and were overpowered by the collective assurance of the ritual’s acceptance. On the other hand, injustice is shown in "A Hanging" by George Orwell, whilst witnessing a hanging in Burma when he was a colonial Officer. Orwell describes the unspeakable horrors he felt when the prisoners were being led to the gallows. "I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.....He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone — one mind less, one world less". This quotation