What Are The Similarities Between The Lottery And The Crucible

The Crucible Essay
As Mark Twain once said, “The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.” Many communities, in fiction or in real life, are affected by traditional beliefs. In both The Crucible and “The Lottery”, Jackson and Miller communicate that many will stay true to their traditions rather than stay loyal to their community; however, they also show how these traditions may create a community.
Throughout “The Lottery” and The Crucible, both authors introduce traditional objects to emphasize and strengthen their characters' beliefs. In “The Lottery”, Jackson includes that while “the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago,” (paragraph 5) the village still does the tradition

In Jackson’s story, “The Lottery”, the townspeople were all friends. This is shown by Jackson when Mrs. Hutchinson is running late. She stops to speak to her neighbor, and at the end, “she tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell.” (paragraph 9) However, as the tradition goes, neighbors are forced to turn on one another. “[Mrs.] Delacroix selected a stone so large, she had to pick it up with both hands.” (paragraph 76) Even though both the women are friends, Delacroix still chooses to help stone Mrs. Hutchinson after the lottery is drawn. In The Crucible, the town of Salem has split apart. Neighbors are seen turning on each other throughout the entire story. Half of the town is being accused of witchcraft while the other half are the ones blaming them. Many people claim they “saw Goody Sibber…Alice Barrow…Goody Hawkins…Goody Booth with the devil” (page 48), however, they are lying to the community, making them believe in a false narrative. Those who have banded together to blame the townspeople are a group of young girls, controlled by Abigail

In The Crucible, the young girls are found in the forest, dancing, which was prohibited during this time. Instead of getting in trouble for their actions, the girls used the town’s superstitious beliefs to turn the narrative. Even though Abigail had been the one to bring most of the girls into the forest to dance, she claimed “[Tituba] sends her spirit on [her] in church!” (page 44) Abigail leads the girls through their “performances” in order to startle the townspeople, leading to over 25 people dying over witchcraft. However, in “The Lottery”, Jackson exposes the children’s relationship to tradition differently. In “The Lottery”, the town is forced to draw names out of a wooden box each year, including the children. “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example.” (paragraph 2) The children participate in every part of the tradition, including stoning and the name