Summary Of Epictetus 'The Lottery'

Stoic writings like Epictetus’ Enchiridion or The Handbook, show that he believes that to live the best life possible, that person needs to not put any value into emotions. In Epictetus’ writing, he writes about how he believes a stoic should live. Epictetus believes that a person should not let the death of someone they loved make them emotional, that the judgment of death is what makes a person unhappy, that a person should prepare themselves for an event that is going to happen, so they will not be disappointed, that a person must do any task assigned to them, and that to be okay with what fate has in store for that person because they cannot control the outcome. In Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, she writes about a fictional town that holds

Epictetus writes, “What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgments about the things… the judgment about death is that it is dreadful” (55). Most people think of the death of a loved one and feel depressed, but according to Stoics and by the actions of the characters in The Lottery, a person should not be unhappy because that was just a normal human that was going to die anyway. Stoics believe, “We get through some fearful, painful thing and find not only that it was bearable but that it seems insignificant in relation to everything else we have experienced” (Becker 155). Though killing someone may be painful, the characters in The Lottery are able to see that they got through the actions and move on. The people in The Lottery have done the stoning for so many years that they have become emotionless in their views on death, they would agree that death is not as dreadful as some people make it; therefore, the townspeople believe the same as Epictetus about death. In the death sequence, it is almost heart wrenching, Mrs. Hutchinson is pleading for them not to kill her and the surround her and begin throwing the stones at her (436). By the writings of Epictetus, the stoics would act like the characters in The Lottery when it comes to dealing with death because they have taken the emotion of someone dying

At points in the short story, the people show emotions towards the lottery, but they choose to ignore their consciousness that it is not right. Not all the citizens completely shut off their emotions. When Mrs. Hutchinson is the person chosen, her emotions kick in and she says, “this isn’t fair” (436) and asks for a redraw her emotions appear because she is trying to save herself. Mrs. Hutchinson’s actions are normal for a person who is about to die, her survival instincts kick in because she was about to die. Although they have prepared themselves and accepted the fate of the lottery, the younger generations hope for their friends, not the ones were chosen, “A girl whispered, “I hope it is not Nancy”” (436) and Old Man Warner scolds the girl for hoping that her friend is not the one to die. Though some aspects of the characters in The Lottery are not stoic like, overall the town has the similar characteristics of Epictetus’