ipl-logo

Conformity In The Crucible And The Lottery

1441 Words6 Pages

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 …show more content…

All families of the town gather to draw a slip from a black box, and the Hutchinson family pulls out the “lucky” slip. Tessie Hutchinson argues that it is not fair, the lottery continues anyways. Tessie ends up pulling out a slip with a black dot on it, meaning she won. She was then stoned to death by the rest of the town's citizens. The town believes that the lottery will bring well-growing crops for that year. “.... Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery," (Jackson 4). Children and adults participate in the lottery, no one stands up and talks about how terrible it is. It is normal for them. These people of this small town blindly abide by this tradition, just because it has been going on for a long period of time. "Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery," Old Man Warner said as he went through the crowd. "Seventy-seventh time." (Jackson

Show More
Related

How Does Shirley Jackson Use Irony In The Lottery

587 Words | 3 Pages

We come to find that the lottery is not just some game, but in all reality, the “winner” will be stoned to death by the rest of the townspeople. Being that there are serious consequences of the lottery, the townspeople go with the flow because they do not want to be stoned also. At the end of the story the readers realize that the townspeople have not gathered for a game and the name was not drawn for a special prize or rewards. Tessie, the “winner”, shows up late to the lottery, claiming she forgot what day it was. What is even more surprisingly ironic about Tessie Hutchinson being the “winner” is that her and her husband have always protested the lottery.

Read More

Conflict In ZZ Packer's The Lottery

643 Words | 3 Pages

Next, Mr. Summers tells everyone they may open their slips of paper. Bill Hutchison picked the slip of paper with the dot on it, and Tessie immediately starts protesting. This is the part of the story whereas readers we realize the lottery may not be a good thing. There are five people in the Hutchison family and they each have to draw another slip of paper from the box. This

Read More

Comparing The Crucible And The Lottery

622 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Similarities Between The Lottery And Harrison Bergeron

999 Words | 4 Pages

As Old Man Warner went through the crowd, he said, “Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery, seventy-seventh time” (Jackson 5). As a matter of fact, he is the oldest person in the town who really values the lottery. He follows it, as the generations before him used to do. According to his actions he is not afraid of the consequences that may happen in the future. As it has always been practiced in the society, without really questioning its actual meaning on why they are doing it.

Read More

Conformity In The Crucible

626 Words | 3 Pages

Human is a species that live in group, and conformity is one of the distinct characteristic of human nature. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller investigates various natures in community throughout Act 1 and 2. The play took place at Salem, a town that primarily based on puritanism, the major plot of this play is about witchcraft and witch hunt. Miller conveys a essential message of people always search for conformity from society as a form to prove their identity, further, any rebellion would consider as outcast from majority. The author explores the theme by the use of conflict, this literary element best demonstrates changes of characterizations and complication between others and internal struggle.

Read More

Examples Of Conformity In The Crucible

692 Words | 3 Pages

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller argues that conformity and fear can cause human nature to make a mess of things very quickly. The characters of his play live in an unchecked Puritanical theocracy that is very strict and the courts cannot be challenged or questioned. This and the power of fear causes all the townsfolk to act in a vindictive way that they normally wouldn’t have. The Salem Witch Trials are far from the only example in history of human’s pack nature causing chaos. Many prominent conformity events in history have been during times of war and confusion.

Read More

The Crucible Conformity Essay

1073 Words | 5 Pages

Conformity represents the tendency for an individual to align their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those of the people around them. It can be a way of social pressure and unconscious influence. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller shows the negative effects that conformity causes on individuals. The Crucible takes place in 1692 in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The play follows a storyline where a village gets embroiled in witch hunts, as people in the village grow scared and weary of the practices of the church.

Read More

Morality In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

256 Words | 2 Pages

In "The Lottery", they indulge in a higher intention and allow tradition and "mob mentality" to overcome morality for the good of the town, allowing them to stone to death one of their own. The townsfolk have forgotten the rituals that go with the lottery, "at one time there had been a recital of sorts" and "There had been, also, a ritual salute", and few remember that it is supposed to bring good crops - "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon". Tradition dictates that the lottery happens every year on June 27th. This is the way things have always been. Old Man Winters remarks "Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery.

Read More

Conformity In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

1060 Words | 5 Pages

Conformity is a powerful and influential behavior that can drastically affect a society’s circumstances. The morality and wellbeing of the individuals’ in a society are shaped by the everyday traditions and customs of that culture. Shirley Jackson, an award-winning author for her works in horror and mystery, unveils the perturbing effect of conformity on a society and its people in her short story “The Lottery.” In her thought-provoking story, a village situated in a warm area of England prepares to partake in a traditional crop fertility ritual that involves a paper drawing to elect a ‘winner’ who will be stoned to death. The societal conformity to continue this brutal tradition causes the life of a person to be insensitively taken away each

Read More

Argumentative Essay On The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

418 Words | 2 Pages

The lottery always happens on June 27th. The “Lottery’s” continual existence was indebted to the people who felt like traditions should not be changed or end. First, some of the people in the town were in the face that others had quit the lottery, but Old Man Warner discouraged that kind of thinking. “‘Some places have already quit lotteries,’

Read More

The Lottery Shirley Jackson Essay

1031 Words | 5 Pages

In The Lottery we see how people of a village follow a tradition where the 27th of June every year they gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around 10 o’clock so they can start the lottery “The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock” (Jackson para 1). The lottery consists of a member of each family (preferably

Read More

Peer Pressure In The Crucible

453 Words | 2 Pages

In The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, peer pressure takes a big part. People do all sorts of things to fit in. People often want to feel accepted by society, especially from their friends. Peer pressure is a big issue in The Crucible, also in real life.

Read More

The Negative Consequences Of Tradition In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

467 Words | 2 Pages

The tradition of the lottery has been carried out for so long in this village that nobody even knows the reason for its occurring in the first place and nobody questions it. When Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the village, is told about other villages giving up the tradition of the lottery, he says that they are, “[A] pack of crazy fools [...]. There [has] always been a lottery [...]” (Jackson, 4). There is no reason why there has always been a lottery except that every year on June 27th, they held the lottery.

Read More

Banality Of Evil In The Lottery

865 Words | 4 Pages

“Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and the roundest stones”(304).The ritual and traditions of the lottery in Shirley Jackson’s story seem to be just as old as the town itself, especially since most of the residents do not recall any of the old rituals, even the Old Man Warner, who is “celebrating" his 77th lottery. This helps illustrate how the people of the village just went on with the lottery without even questioning it. Like during the shock testing in Lessing experiments. The subjects blindly followed orders to obtain information even if it meant killing the person. Even in today’s society we are in social groups that define who we are and we do whatever we can to conform to

Read More

Thesis For The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

650 Words | 3 Pages

“The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts off with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers holds the lottery. Once everyone gathers, every family draws a slip of paper out of an old black box, and the family with the black mark on their paper gets picked. After that, each family member older than 3 years of age re-draws a slip of paper again and this time, the person with the black mark on their paper gets picked as the “lucky winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery, with her reward is being stoned to death.

Read More

More about Conformity In The Crucible And The Lottery

Related Topics

Open Document