Invalid Tradition In The Lottery

Invalid Tradition: The Horrors of The Town

In order for society to grow, members must be willing to do good for others, not only for themselves. The members that cause harm for their own personal benefit and have no regret, they are considered “evil.” When determining if someone is a villain, specific criterion must be determined. First, the number and type of people killed by the villain determines their evil. When the villain murders a large quantity of innocent people, such as children, who have done nothing wrong, they would be considered “evil” because those particular people did not ask for their deaths. Secondly, the method of murder is a big part on determining one’s “evil.” If one were to murder someone for their own personal pleasure,

Thirdly, the motive or justification that the villain shows has a huge factor on determining who is a villain. The most evil villains murder and harm people for no reason whatsoever. Finally, the villains presence of remorse can show how evil one is. The villains that show no remorse are the worst because this shows how they do not care for any of their victims. In the story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the townspeople show that they are very evil because of the type, number, and method they use to kill and harm their victims. They introduce a lottery, however it is not what it seems and becomes a bloodbath for one unlucky member.The townspeople also show how evil they are from their motive and how they do not show any form of remorse. Instead, their sick beings, feel satisfaction as they kill their own people as tradition. The townspeople show that they are the most evil villains due to their intent to harm and

To begin, the townspeople motive is basically how it is tradition to keep the town’s population lower in order to have enough supplies for everyone; however, if their population is already three hundred people, killing off one each year is not going to make a great deal of change. Also, none of the townspeople seem to show any signs of remorse as they kill one another with their rocks. Instead they get furious when one chooses not to conform to the other. This is shown when other members, including her husband yell foul things such as, “Be a good sport Tessie” or “Shut up Tessie” (Jackson 5). This shows that none of the members really care about the victims even if they are in their own families. Although some may think Montresor’s motive and remorse might prove that he is more evil, they are wrong. Montresor’s motive is that Fortunato insulted him one time so that means he must get revenge. However, as he is begging to brick him up in a wall and finds that Fortunato is most likely dead, he then feels the tiniest bit of remorse. He then acted as if it was only the dampness as he states, “My heart grew sick—on account of the dampness of the catacombs” (Poe 64). Thus, Montresor did show at least some type of remorse compared to the townspeople who totally fell into conformity. Though Montresor’s motive is not a smart of relevant motive, it is still not as irrelevant as