Lit210 Final

IT/210

Final Paper

Comparing

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and “A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner

Literature has always shown, or at least attempted to show us the err of our ways. Throughout history, many stories have been written about our shortcomings, and have been presented to us in such a way to serve as warnings. This has been true about such famous works as Hamlet, Romeo And Juliet, and the Christian Bible itself. The stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and “A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner are but two examples of warnings to our society to not get so caught up in our ways that we can not see the need for change.

In many ways, a society can greatly affect the actions of its citizens. For example, a violent society tends to create violent people. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the townspeople grow up believing that the lottery is a fun tradition, and that there is certainly nothing wrong with it. The lottery, however, is a violent, murderous tradition, and the citizens who perform the ritual feel that it is justified. These are generally fun loving, every day people who grow up in a village that is peaceful and tranquil. It is not until the time comes each year for the lottery that we see the violent side of these same people.

“A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner, however shows a different kind of violence. Emily grew up in a household that was emotionally violent and abusive. Her father was very protective of her and extremely dominating. This kind of family environment for women was typical of southern society. Emily herself represented, “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation”. Like the rest of the world, Miss Emily’s father chased away any and all men that tried and wanted to marry her. This had a great effect on Emily, and her views of the outside world. She learned to not accept anything outside of her home, and the...