The Side Effects of Casual Indifference A Critical Analysis of Shirley Jacksons The Lottery - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1336 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/08/16 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: The Lottery Essay Did you like this example? The Lottery In her short story, The Lottery, Shirley Jackson demonstrates the hypocrisy of a person through the development of the character of Tessie Hutchinson. The publication of The Lottery in The New Yorker on June 26, 1948 resulted in many cancelled subscriptions due to its gruesome plot (Franklin par. 1). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Side Effects of Casual Indifference A Critical Analysis of Shirley Jacksons The Lottery" essay for you Create order The short story follows a village of people participating in an annual tradition, the drawing of the lottery, which is later revealed to be a sacrifice to an unknown entity through death by stoning. It is suggested that the sacrifice will benefit the village. The village people mindlessly carry on the tradition knowing that they are putting their lives at risk by doing so. Tessie Hutchinson willfully participates in the annual tradition and does not speak against it until her and her family fall victim to the lottery. If Shirley Jacksons intent was to symbolize into complete mystification, and at the same time be gratuitously disagreeable, she certainly succeeded, Alfred L. Kroeber wrote, an anthropologist at the University of California, Berkeley (Franklin). Tessie Hutchinson illustrates casual indifference to acts of violence, self-centered nature, and one who does not question injustice until it directly affects them. When Tessie Hutchinson is introduced in the story, right away her attitude is shown as indifferent. Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd. (Jackson par. 8). Tessie is late to the lottery because she had forgotten about it. She was so engaged in her daily responsibilities that she had not noticed the date until she noticed that her family was not at home. The village people are excused from their responsibilities to participate in the lottery, suggesting that this is an important tradition to uphold. Healthy and able villagers are required to participate in the tradition. If one falls ill or injured, a family member is ordered to draw in their place. Although her tardiness is dismissed with a laugh, it is clear that this tradition has no true significance to Tessie herself. Like a student late for class, it is seen for the first time, Tessie Hutchinson probably regards the ceremony as routine and has got used to it, and it is no longer of much importance in her. (Fuyu Chen par. 9). Tessie feels unaffected whether the tradition happens or not. As it is Bill Hutchinsons turn to draw for his family, Tessie jokingly encourages him. Her casual indifference to the situation is alarming, but most of the other village people demonstrate the same attitude as they watch their husbands draw a slip of paper from the black box. Tessie is indifferent because she assumes that she or her family will never fall victims to the lottery. Her naivetà © and complacency are not only a danger to herself, but a danger to the entire village as a whole. Tessies attitude shifts as her husband reveals that he has the slip of paper with the mark on it, stamping his entire family to draw from the black box in the second round. Tessie begins to feel panicked, her chances of becoming a sacrifice just increased greatly. Suddenly it is unfair to her and she views the tradition in a new light, or perhaps a new darkness. Even with the shift in attitude though, Tessie still appears indifferent. However, this time it is indifference towards the fate of her family members. She tries to include her daughter, Eva, who is married into a different family. Daughters draw with their husbands families, Tessie, Mr. Summers said gently. You know that as well as anyone else. (Jackson par 51). Tessie tries to bend the rules to her advantage and does not care that this would risk her daughter being stoned to death, as long as it increased her own chances of survival. Before the second drawing, Shirley Jackson illustrates Tessie Hutchinson as a self-centered mother. Jackson wants the readers view of Tessie to shift as Tessies does, it is difficult to grasp a specific emotion as this tradition unfolds. Jackson wants the reader to feel conflicted about their feelings towards Tessie. She sets the reader up to feel empathy towards Tessie but to question it allowing frustration to follow. Empathy for the possibility that Tessie could be stoned to death, but frustration for the possibility that this could have been prevented. It is frightening to remember that Tessie is a mother and is willfully volunteering her own children to take their chance at becoming the next sacrifice to increase her own chance at survival. The fact that the story seems to be such a transparent attack on blind obedience to tradition may be the reason that no further explanation is necessary. But it is not just an attack on mindless, cultural conformity; it is a suggestion of evil inherent in human nature, (Shields 412). Tessie fails to consider whether she holds any blame for what is to happen to her that shes essentially allowed to happen to other village people throughout the years. It is not until Tessie realizes that her life is on the line that she speaks against the tradition. Earlier in the story, some of the village people spoke of the nearby villages abandoning the lottery and they spoke down on it: Listening to the young folks, nothings good enough for them. Next thing you know, theyll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon. First thing you know, wed all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. Theres always been a lottery, he added petulantly. Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody. Some places have already quit lotteries. Mrs. Adams said. Nothing but trouble in that, Old Man Warner said stoutly. Pack of young fools. (Jackson par 33). From what Jackson reveals about this specific village, no one has spoken out against the tradition or considered altering or abandoning it. Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the village, illustrates the older generations being resistant to change. He believes that if the lottery were abandoned that their vegetation and crops would be no more. When Tessie begins to protest, claiming that the tradition is not fair, she is demonstrating a very common occurrence of only speaking out about injustices when they become personal. She does not view the tradition as unfair and is incredibly indifferent towards it until she falls victim and becomes the next sacrifice. Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her, (Jackson par 79). Even though she is suddenly against the tradition for her own selfish reasons, it is too late to protest. Speaking out against the lottery in the moment that it becomes personal to herself does not allow enough time for any proper change to be made. Especially given the fact that the elders are so dedicated to upholding the tradition and are reluctant to abandoning or altering it in anyway. Opposition in panic is not enough to convince anyone to stop the final step of the tradition, death by stoning. It isnt fair, it isnt right, Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her, (Jackson par 80). Tessie Hutchinson illustrates the hypocritical and self-centered nature of humans. The fate of Tessie lies in her behavior, she willfully participates in a tradition that she knows she could be killed in. Her casual indifference highlights that she is comfortable in the assumption that she would never become the sacrifice and shows no concern for it to happen to others. Addressing concerns and sparking the debate of altering or ending the lottery could have saved her life and the lives of many victims before her. Tessies failure to speak out against casual acts of violence until she fell victim to it, ultimately cost her life.

Homer s Odyssey The King Of Ithaca And Glorious Hero Of...

In the Illiad, King Menelaus of Sparta and all of Greece waged a bloody and long war against the city of Troy. Among the Greek, there were many heroes: Achilles, Ajax, Agamemnon, and many more. The one who made it possible for the Greek to win in the end was Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. Homer’s Odyssey, in which the story of Odysseus continued on, described the tormenting years of his journey home. He set sailed from Troy, expecting to be home in a few months. Instead, his ships were blown all across the Mediterranean Sea, facing countless obstacles, and he finally reached his beloved home alone, after ten painstaking years. By the end of his journey, Odysseus the mighty King of Ithaca and glorious hero of the Trojan War, changed from a proud and reckless young man to a humble, travel-weary, wise man from all the hardships and troubles he underwent. At the beginning of his quest, Odysseus was still relatively young and proud, especially since he just won the Trojan War. Many a times on his journey, it was his own pride and curiosity that became his undoing. The most ample example would be his infamous encounter with the Cyclopes, Polyphemus. Odysseus and twelve of his men went to explore the land for its inhabitants, only to find a cave full of food. Not only did Odysseus’ men eat Polyphemus’ food without permission, Odysseus had ungratefully asked for a gift: â€Å"It was our luck to come here; here we stand / beholden for your help, or any gifts / you give – as custom is toShow MoreRelatedOdyssey Historical Background6500 Words   |  26 PagesThe Odyssey ~ Background Information * The novel covers a 10 year period. * The novel was written approximately in 720 B.C. * The novel takes place in 1230 B.C. ~ during the Bronze age. * The Iliad (written first) and The Odyssey are based on historical events that took place about 1230 B.C. * Both novels are considered epic poems * The Odyssey is defined as a journey. This is the story of Odysseus’ journey back home after the Trojan War. From The Odyssey, Homer chose theRead MoreKleos in The Odyssey by Homer938 Words   |  4 PagesTHE ODYSSEY Heroic glory occupies a very crucial place in the Indo-European epic tradition, because the Greek society is a shame culture, in which being honoured is one of the primary purposes of people s lives. Hence, the concept of kleos formed an essential part of the bardic tradition which helped the people to maintain the heroic stature of the mythical heroes from generation to generation. This is why, it has got an important place in the Greek epics also. In The Odyssey by Homer alsoRead MoreBeowulf : A Man Of Great Power Essay1567 Words   |  7 PagesLiterary epics tend to follow the basic path in their plotlines of a hero who undergoes a quest, and Beowulf is no different. Beowulf is unique in that his tale is split into two stories taking place decades apart, one when he is a young warrior and the other when he is an old and wise king. Both stories follow the basic structure for a literary epic, a talented hero is charged with a quest, proves himself with a smaller feat, is aided b y supplementary characters, enters a foreign and often supernaturalRead MoreThe Hero Of Homer s Epic Tale, The Odyssey1922 Words   |  8 Pagesheroes is most certainly Odysseus, the mythological Grecian subject of Homer s epic tale, The Odyssey. This legendary figure displays exemplary brains and muscle, appearing almost superhuman at times. He embodies the ideals Greeks heroes aspired to: manly valor, loyalty to both his family and friends, as well as keen intelligence. The popularity of Odysseus has proven timeless; to this day, he remains greatly admired as both a hero, and an ordinary man who must overcome hurdles and embark on epicRead MoreOdysseus Character Analysis2044 Words   |  9 PagesOdysseus is a man of many ways. He has seen numerous cities and has learned the minds of countless people (Book I: 1 – 4). He is glorious. Zeus calls him godlike, greatest among other men in mind (Book I: 65). Athena and Hephaestus taught him the arts of war and carpentry, resp ectively (Book IV: 233). He sacrificed more to the gods of heaven than any other mortal and thus, he is loved by all the gods. Additionally, he is a noble father and is as just and kind to his subjects as to his own kin. He

The Real Facts About Abortions Free Essays

Abortion Abortion is quite a controversial issue in today’s government. Many of us refrain from even getting into a discussion over abortion, because it is such a sensitive topic. It is very unfortunate that so many women around the world have to make decisions involving abortion, period. We will write a custom essay sample on The Real Facts About Abortions or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"One in three women will have at least one abortion by the time she is 45, and these run the gamut of ages, races, backgrounds and beliefs. † (Welch) In one’s eye abortion is simply immoral and unacceptable, while in another it is a typical procedure. Often, pro-abortionists are portrayed â€Å"†¦ s merciful and anti-abortionists as close-minded† (Olasky). As an outsider I interpret each group as one extreme to the other, and the purpose of this paper is to inform myself and the reader of both, pro-life and pro-choice sides and perspectives of abortion in the U. S. Somebody that claims to be in favor of the Pro-Life policy is opposed to wrongful death and in favor of life-enhancing actions. The main argument of a pro-lifer is religious based beliefs. They argue that an abortion is immoral because, â€Å"†¦ all life was created by God and belongs to Him, no one has the right to murder another human being. (Cain) A person in favor of Pro-Life polic y believes that having an abortion is a sin, but so is sex before marriage and half of the woman getting pregnant nowadays are not even out of high school. Does that mean that just because they decided to attempt to raise a baby at 15 that they have been forgiven for their original sin? No, either way they will be judged by those in favor of what is acceptable according to their religion. They even disagree on early abortions because they claim â€Å" life begins at conception†¦ † (Lowen). Anti-choice people â€Å"†¦ ant to outlaw abortion, regardless of the woman’s situation† (The Problem). They don’t see any exception for committing murder. Anti- Abortionists often compare abortions to Hitler and the concentration camps, â€Å"One out of every three children conceived in America since 1972 has died a brutal death through abortion—more than six times the number of Jews that Adolf Hitler put to death in his Nazi concentration camps. â₠¬  (Roe) The cost of abortion is another issue for pro-lifer’s, they think that the government shouldn’t have to spend so much money to undermine future growth. â€Å"The inistry of health claimed that the 45,000 women treated in public hospitals for incomplete abortions each year is costing the state R19 million† (Cain). They believe tax dollars should not be used to provide women with this type of birth control, it is unfair to those who do not support the pro-choice policy and it is unacceptable. Being Pro-Choice means being in favor of safe and legal abortions, but also in reducing the need for abortions. Their religious beliefs are not a base for their opinions on abortion. Those who are in favor of the Pro-Choice policy argue that person-hood at conception is â€Å"†¦ ot a provable biological fact,† it is simply a religious belief (Choice Matters). Pro-choice supporters give women the benefit of the doubt allow for a logical explanation for an abortion. Abortions are medically necessary for some women, â€Å"Teen girls, whose bodies are not yet ready for childbirth, are five times more likely to die† (Health). In a case like that would it be fair to pass judgment? The same goes for woman who are raped. Pro-choice people argue that instead of trying to prohibit abortion altogether, we should try alternate methods like; safe, affordable contraceptives and comprehensive sex education. Laws against abortion do not stop abortion; they simply make it less safe†¦ the only thing that changes is more women die† (Health). Outlawing it would lead women to turn to unsafe abortions, not conducted in clinics. For some families abortion â€Å"†¦ helps parents limit their families to number of children they want and can afford, both financially and emotionally† (Choice Matters). Taking away the civil rights of women and/or families by making it illegal to have abortions, will only lead to more poverty in th e United States and lead to increasing government spending on welfare. According to the First Amendment, we all have our right to privacy. I am a woman myself and I honestly wouldn’t appreciate strangers making decisions for me. What happens in the privacy of one woman’s body doesn’t belong out in the open for everyone else to critique. I am fully aware that if a woman feels she is mature enough to have sexual intercourse, then she should be prepared to face the possible consequences, but this is the real world and we are only human. Mistakes do happen. I do not support women getting abortions just because they are promiscuous and lazy. Of course the abstinence policy is the best policy, but as long as we are living on planet Earth, that just won’t cut it. Just like Hillary Clinton, I believe that, â€Å"†¦ whatever side you’re on in the pro-choice vs. pro-life debate,†¦ we can all agree on a third principle: we would be better off with fewer of them† (Sullivan). I personally think that providing all sexually active women with contraceptives is the smartest thing to do in order to decrease high rates of abortion. In the United states, â€Å"†¦ 74% say having a baby would interfere with work, school, or other responsibilities† (United States). Some women may have to go through with an abortion simply because she has severe health risks that may possibly kill her if she went into labor. She may want a child just as bad as many other women except her body cant support a pregnancy. Or, if a women is raped she shouldn’t have to relive the agony of such an event every single day for 9 months. What if she didn’t even want kids? Just because she got pregnant from a rapist, doesn’t mean she has to raise his child. Some â€Å"†¦ people say an aborted child might have grown up to be President. There’s a better chance he would have grown up to be the one who shot the President† (Olasky). It would all really depend on the mother of that child, if she kept the kid and ended up to resent him/her then, that would most likely effect the child in a negative manner; it would make that child have a negative outlook on life. He/she would hate everything and everyone. In that situation in my eyes, the mother would be doing the kid and herself a favor. I’m not saying I would be the one to have an abortion, because in the end I most likely wouldn’t have the heart to get rid of something that I partially created. I would think, what if he/she is the only chance I have at ever being a mother? What if I only had one shot and I blew it? On the other hand, I would recap on all the things I could potentially loose out on because I decided to have a child that I wasn’t capable of raising yet. At the end of the day, deciding to abort a baby depends on the situation a women may be in at that point of her life; it doesn’t depend on all of the outsiders who think they have the right to decide for her. Every women has a life and has a choice, and the reasoning behind her decision is completely personal. After conducting all of my research, I noticed that there are strong points on each side of abortion. No matter what position a person takes on this issue, there will always be others critiquing it. I think it is important to accept some woman’s reasons for abortion, but at the same time support the fight on lowering the needs for abortion. We need to educate women about their choices and consequences. Birth control methods need to be expressed and easily obtained. Until the Pro-Choice v. Pro-Life fight gets settled, the United States will only get more and more divided as a nation. How to cite The Real Facts About Abortions, Papers

Macro economics Essay Example For Students

Macro economics Essay Keynesian EconomicsMacroeconomics, branch of economics concerned with the aggregate, or overall, economy. Macroeconomics deals with economic factors such as total national output and income, unemployment, balance of payments, and the rate of inflation. It is distinct from microeconomics, which is the study of the composition of output such as the supply and demand for individual goods and services, the way they are traded in markets, and the pattern of their relative prices. At the basis of macroeconomics is an understanding of what constitutes national output, or national income, and the related concept of gross national product (GNP). The GNP is the total value of goods and services produced in an economy during a given period of time, usually a year. The measure of what a countrys economic activity produces in the end is called final demand. The main determinants of final demand are consumption (personal expenditure on items such as food, clothing, appliances, and cars), investment (spending by businesses on items such as new facilities and equipment), government spending, and net exports (exports minus imports). Macroeconomic theory is largely concerned with what determines the size of GNP, its stability, and its relationship to variables such as unemployment and inflation. The size of a countrys potential GNP at any moment in time depends on its factors of production-labor and capital-and its technology. Over time the countrys labor force, capital stock, and technology will change, and the determination of long-run changes in a countrys productive potential is the subject matter of one branch of macroeconomic theory known as growth theory. The study of macroeconomics is relatively new, generally beginning with the ideas of British economist John Maynard Keynes in the 1930s. Keyness ideas revolutionized thinking in several areas of macroeconomics, including unemployment, money supply, and inflation. Keynesian Theory and Unemployment Unemployment causes a great deal of social distress and concern; as a result, the causes and consequences of unemployment have received the most attention in macroeconomic theory. Until the publication in 1936 of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by Keynes, large-scale unemployment was generally explained in terms of rigidity in the labor market that prevented wages from falling to a level at which the labor market would be in equilibrium. Equilibrium would be reached when pressure from members of the labor force seeking work had bid down the wage to the point where either some dropped out of the labor market (the supply of labor fell) or firms became willing to take on more labor given that the lower wage increased the profitability of hiring more workers (demand increased). If, however, some rigidity prevented wages from falling to the point where supply and demand for labor were at equilibrium, then unemployment could persist. Such an obstacle could be, for example, trade union action to maintain minimum wages or minimum-wage legislation. Keyness major innovation was to argue that persistent unemployment might be caused by a deficiency in demand for production or services, rather than by a disequilibrium in the labor market. Such a deficiency of demand could be explained by a failure of planned (intended) investment to match planned (intended) savings. Savings constitute a leakage in the circular flow by which the incomes earned in the course of producing goods or services are transferred back into demand for other goods and services. A leakage in the circular flow of incomes would tend to reduce the level of total demand. Real investment, known as capital formation (the production of machines, factories, housing, and so on), has the opposite effect-it is an injection into the circular flow relating income to output-and tends to raise the level of demand. Why Stealing Is Wrong essay The cost-push theory basically emphasized the role of excessive increases in wages relative to productivity increases as a cause of inflation, whereas the demand-pull theory tended to attribute inflation more to excess demand in the goods market caused by expansion of the money supply. A central concept in inflationary theory since the mid-1950s has been the Phillips curve, which relates the level of unemployment to the rate of inflation. The Phillips curve suggests that society can make a choice between various combinations of inflation rate and unemployment level. Many economists, however, dispute whether such a choice really exists, saying that in order to keep unemployment under control it will be necessary to accept continuously increasing inflation. At the same time many other economists dispute whether a stable relationship between unemployment and the level of real wage demands exists. Modern Theories During the last few decades there have been numerous refinements of the Keynesian theory of unemployment. For example, although there is still much disagreement as to the importance of wage rigidity, significant progress has been made in explaining it without recourse to trade union behavior or government regulation. At first it seemed difficult to reconcile the notion of wage rigidity with the usual economists assumption that people seek to maximize utility or satisfaction and would be willing to accept a lower wage in order to get a job. However, by widening the range of variables over which individuals optimize to include variables such as loyalty and self-respect, it has become easier to reconcile labor market disequilibrium with the usual assumptions of optimizing behavior. Macroeconomic theories regarding the way that the determinants of total final demand operate form the basis of large macroeconomic models of the economy that are used in economic forecasting to make predictions of output and employment and related variables. During the last few years, the record of most such predictions has been poor, and an analysis of the errors has led to continual revisions of the basic models and refinements of the theory. Phillips curve The Phillips curve illustrates the trade-off found by economist A. W. Phillips between lower unemployment and increased inflation. If unemployment is low at 4 percent, inflation is slightly high at 6 percent (point a). If inflation is eliminated, unemployment increases to 8 percent (point b). The trade-off poses a dilemma for policy-makers, although economists disagree on whether this relationship exists.