Normalization Of Violence In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

What is the normalization of violence? The normalization of violence is the tolerance of violence as a fixed part of life, the belief that portrayals of violence do not have an effect in real life, and that it is the victim, not the perpetrator, that should be held accountable for violence. Just as the townsfolk in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson accepted that the horrendous tradition was a needed and necessary part of their society, people today are continuing to normalize and accept violence against women as a natural part of society. The normalization begins at a young age when gender norms, roles, and relations are assigned and made clear by adults. It continues as people are desensitized to violence against women because of its comedic and casual portrayal in the news, social media, literature, and sexist language. Furthermore, when acts of violence are acknowledged, they are seen as isolated events instead of being part of the epidemic of violence against women that they are. In this paper, the perils of the normalization of violence against women that continues to happen will be examined in comparison to the normalization of

In “The Lottery” people have become so immune to the violence of the tradition that some even forget what day it is on and are able to laugh about it (Jackson, 2010). Likewise, humor is becoming increasingly popular as a way to make violence against women socially acceptable. This violence represented in video games, television shows, movies, and advertisements not only show violence as standard but frequently go as far as to romanticize sexual violence. This misrepresentation as humorous, casual, or romantic translates that violence against women is acceptable and creates a culture where it is not taken