Selfishness In The Lottery And Young Goodman Brown

Give me back my shoes! In a family with just girls, this is a phrase that is echoed frequently throughout our halls. Selfishness in big and small scenarios has taken its toll on my family. Even entire families will not speak to each other due to the selfishness of one individual. Each decision a person makes is motivated by either love or selfishness. Selfishness tends to drive families apart and love brings the family closer together. A family unit can consist of blood related individuals, a community, or even a group of friends. Even in modern forms of media, celebrities are undermining each other to get on top of the billboards or into the hall of fame. This example and numerous others, including the use of social media, engrains in each

In “Young Goodman Brown”, a man meets with the devil, and his actions are reflected by his negatively changed outlook. “Everyday Use” is a story of a young woman who goes to her mother’s home to take away treasured family possessions. In “The Lottery”, A small community yearly sacrifices one of their own. The consequences of these selfish acts, more times than not, have lasting and unseen impacts. A person’s selfish actions within a family lead the unit to breakdown. When a family member is selfish, he or she does not contribute to the well-being and success of the family. This person does not aid in the day-to-day operations, which molds the family dynamic. Young Goodman Brown thinks of returning to heaven by pondering his relationship with his new wife. Goodman Brown wishes to “cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven” (Hawthorne 86). He does not wish to aid his wife, Faith, in going to heaven. Goodman Brown is desperately grabbing onto his wife as a last-minute attempt to slip into heaven

Old Man Warner listens to his fellow community members discuss leaving the tradition of the lottery. He responds to their rumors saying, “Pack of crazy fools…nothing’s good enough for them” (Jackson 3). He insults the younger generation as a whole for having a dissenting viewpoint. Being in the lottery for seventy-seven years, old man Warner is comfortable and does not wish to change or even hear the opposing ideas of others. This opinion is vital to the story because it shows the difficulty of many members to change from their “normal” way of acting and thinking. This stubborn behavior does not create the vital attitude of change within the family. If an individual does not turn away from his or her selfish actions, the relationships will continue to decline. Another character that is defensive and combative about her beliefs is Dee. After hearing that the quilts that she desperately wants to have are promised to Maggie, she becomes upset. “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts” (Walker 477). Dee blames Maggie for being given the quilts because she will not use them properly or treasure them as much as she would. Dee does not take time to understand why Maggie wants the quilts and what she is using them for; instead, she jumps to a conclusion believing that Maggie will not value them as much as she will. This viewpoint is important because it