Comparison of Two Short Stories

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at two fictional short stories and compares the way each story looks at society and life. The paper contrasts "The Lottery," which consists of a micro observation about rituals and traditions with "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas," which is a macro or an overall view about life itself. The paper compares the presentation of each story and notes that both stories begin with a tone of gaiety and festivity but take a sadistic turn ending on a sad note. The paper also examines the similarities in theme in both stories, where both are concentrating on societal issues, its structure and practices.

From the Paper:

"Shirley Jackson's Lottery is comparable to Ursula Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas in that the societies in both the stories are functioning on an assumption, a practice that has not been challenged. The only difference is that in the former, the setting is a small town whereas in the latter, the story is set in a city. In The Lottery, the practice is to sacrifice a family in order to guarantee prosperity for the surviving village. The people in this town believe that if they will offer a human sacrifice, they will get a good crop. Since crop symbolizes livelihood for the town people, they believe that a good crop will bring prosperity for the whole town. Similarly, in The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, the society believes that in order for the entire city to be happy and prosperous, they ought to sacrifice one child."

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