ipl-logo

Dangers Of Ignorance And Mob Mentality In Society

2453 Words10 Pages

Wesley Biggs Delara Stehpens ENGL 1020 2nd August, 2023 The Dangers of Ignorance and Mob Mentality in a Society Societies around the world are the foundation for many different traditions, cultures, and ideals. Societies are generally long lasting and evolve over time as do the people who belong to them. There comes a point however, when societies remain stuck in the past following outdated traditions, or become dangerous when people stop considering outside information and stay in their group. This poses a common social problem shared between societies and cultures in the form of ignorance and mob mentality. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story written in 1948 about a small town, a micro-society, that is stuck in the past blindly following tradition and using the conformity of mob mentality to justify it. Traditions span generations, but the origin and purpose of traditions can be lost or misunderstood over time, resulting in a practice wildly different from …show more content…

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson highlights this issue with the town's blind following of tradition and the mob mentality that prevents both progress and justifies its violent nature. Just like how the origin of Halloween can be forgotten by many average Americans, ignorance about old traditions can lead to stagnation and prevent progress. Mob Mentality is also a dangerous social problem for how it prevents individual thought and justifications its actions. Ignorance and Mob Mentality are two of the biggest issues societies face, but knowledge and spreading information are the two best ways to reduce their effects. So do not just blindly follow old traditions and the group. Ask questions, do research, and become a more knowledgeable person, for the better the individual, the better the

Show More
Related

Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

646 Words | 3 Pages

Shirley Jackson’s shorty story “The Lottery”, is about a brutal tradition that is followed by a multiple villages. In this particular village, the tradition is much faster when comparing to other villages because it only has a population of three hundred people. The “lottery” starts off when the head of each house hold take a slip of paper from a black box then whichever family ends up getting the slip of paper with the black dot wins. Then the family has to get another drawing for each family member; and in which the wife wins. Because she won, the town sacrifices her by throwing stones at her until she dies.

Read More

Use Of Foreshadowing And Irony In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

620 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout time, society has had its ups and downs but in the short story “The Lottery” people’s lives are taken to the next level by challenging their luck of survival. Today winning the lottery is rewarding and a positive feeling, but in the short story it’s nothing but a dangerous tradition that will end someone’s life. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson creates a story filled with foreshadowing, irony and a ritualized tradition that masks evil which ultimately demonstrates the central idea that people should not blindly follow tradition. For starters, The short story foreshadows many events to come and makes people’s lives more stressful and fearful.

Read More

Destruction by Conformity: An Analysis of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'

718 Words | 3 Pages

The world is currently affected by the foulest illness of all: conformity. Many people are nervous to stray away from tradition in fear of being an outcast, even if that means following customs like racism and sexism, which causes chaos among the country. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” displays this morbid reality when a town of villagers gathers to obey their annual tradition. Although this event appears at first to be pleasant and festive, it soon becomes clear that the prize is not something of value. The “winner”, it turns out, will be stoned to death.

Read More

Use Of Foreshadowing In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

741 Words | 3 Pages

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson explores the dangers of clinging to tradition and the its detrimental affects on the community it encompasses. Shirley Jackson uses suspense, foreshadowing and imagery to a make the reader aware of the dangers of clinging to forgotten and age old traditions. She continuously reminds us of how the towns people are blindly accepting of The Lottery and that they have allowed ritual murder to become part of their town celebrations. Murder isn’t something we should rejoice, about Shirley Jackson tries to express this to her the reader using a major plot twist, shocking us into understanding her purpose.

Read More

Mob Mentality In The 21st Century

365 Words | 2 Pages

In recent years, we have had a series of events that have sparked outrage across our world. This outrage sometimes leads to an issue I have in contemporary culture: mob mentality. “Herd mentality”, or more commonly known as “mob mentality” refers to how people lose their self-awareness and moral code when they are with a group of people. Mob mentality usually drives people to do things they wouldn’t normally do, such as jumping someone, Whether it be a large amount of people online harassing an artist or a movement that has been tainted by the aggressive nature of some, herd/mob mentality has become a more prevalent and pressing issue in the 21st century.

Read More

The Lottery Rhetorical Analysis

807 Words | 4 Pages

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson begins innocently enough with a village preparing for an annual event, but as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the seemingly harmless tradition is anything but, forcing readers to confront the dangers of blindly following tradition. Jackson employs rhetorical techniques that highlight the importance of avoiding conformity, as it will lead to dire consequences. Shirley Jackson's story is a powerful example of the use of symbolism, vivid imagery, and irony to illuminate the danger and violence of blindly following traditions, as the seemingly innocent annual lottery in a small town ultimately reveals the brutal consequences of conformity and the human capacity for violence. Throughout the story Jackson

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Lottery And Harrison Bergeron

877 Words | 4 Pages

“The Lottery” shows how society can't carelessly obey past customs and

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

Mob Mentality In The Lottery

717 Words | 3 Pages

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a strange village that blindly follows a non beneficial tradition. Jackson uses several objects in order to convey the overall theme of mob mentality to the reader, such as stones, old man Warner, and the black box. The symbols build upon the story to solidify the theme that mob mentality can ruin a society. Many societies even today struggle with mob mentality especially communist societies. " The Lottery" is a prominent example of how history repeats itself.

Read More

The Lottery Argumentative Essay

691 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout centuries, traditions and rituals have had the ability to control one’s behavior. In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, she tells the reader of a small village. On the surface, this community may seem relatively normal. However, despite the picturesque appeal, this falsely serene village has a distinct deceitful flaw. On June 27th, every year, a lottery takes place.

Read More

Response To The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

367 Words | 2 Pages

The story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, wanted us to acquire that the fear of change, and expressing your opinion can drive you to follow the crowd. This short story takes place in a small New England village on June 27th. A ritual called The Lottery was being practiced. A case in point, the author tells us, “Every year after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without being done.” (p. 1-2)

Read More

The Lottery Tradition Essay

501 Words | 3 Pages

Traditions have been sought after and passed on for generations; with no questions asked, whether humane or not, traditions are hard to break and diminish as they are often what a culture or community stands for. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, a story about the tradition of a small village, is painted in impeccable details of peace, and serenity on a warm summer day, as everyone follows the tradition they have known since a long time ago despite the true intentions and meaning of it forgotten. The Lottery taking place annually is like no other lottery, it paints the true picture of the horror that epitomizes the tradition that none of the villagers dare to question, despite it creating separation between gender and families and ruining

Read More

The Lottery Tradition Analysis

569 Words | 3 Pages

Many people would die to win the lottery; in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson you would do anything NOT to win this lottery. This annual lottery reveals the negative aspects of this town’s Tradition, Savagery, Barbarism, and cold-heartedness. In this paper I will show why this town blindly follows these customs, not because it’s a tradition but because of the accepting wickedness that can be shown. Why does the town follow this foolish tradition? Throughout “The Lottery” the narrator tells that the people do not remember how the lottery began, and that some of the older people believe the lottery has changed over the years, that now people just want to get it over with as fast as possible.

Read More

Blindly Accepting Traditions In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

586 Words | 3 Pages

At a time when basic religious beliefs and traditions were being questioned by academia, author Shirley Jackson penned a poignant attack against those who blindly accepted values and traditions in her short story, “The Lottery.” The Lottery is presented as an event that has always occurred throughout the region's history without any opposition. Nonchalantly, the entire village commits homicide at the finale. Finally, aspects of the traditional lottery evolved without notice or were forgotten by the villagers. Within “The Lottery,” author Shirley Jackson embeds the theme of blindly accepting traditions as illustrated by the actions of the villagers.

Read More

Personal Statement

654 Words | 3 Pages

Leadership, character, academics, and service are all very important to me because I have had very good role models in my life: teachers, my parents, and Jesus. Ever since ninth grade, as leadership, character, serving people, and academics grew in me, I became more confident. For me, confidence allowed me to get involved in more activities where leadership, serving, and character can continue to grow. Everyone has the ability to be a leader, but it depends how a person uses their leadership skills to be a great leader. In my opinion, some of the best and successful leaders have reachable and planned out goals, followers who trust and enjoy their leader, good speaking skills, confidence, and maturity.

Read More

More about Dangers Of Ignorance And Mob Mentality In Society

Related Topics

Open Document