The Lottery

I have just completed reading through the story--"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. If you have read the story, you would have known that the content of the story is not very relevant in today's context. However, there are still a few lessons we can learn from the story which can still applies to today's world.

Let me list the themes in the story.

1. The dark side of human nature.
   
2. The danger of ritualised behaviour.
   
3. The potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the tyranny of the status quo.

Let us take a look at the first theme. The dark side of human nature can be seen after Tessie won the lottery when Mr Summers did not spare a thought for Tessie and immediately said "Let's finish quickly". Apart from that, Mr Adams told Old Man Warner "that over in the north village they're talking about giving up the lottery". I can infer from that he is actually afraid of winning the lottery and does not support the lottery. Yet, when Tessie Hutchinson was "chosen", he "was at the front of the crowd of villagers". This is a great irony and shows that Mr Adams is only concerned about his and his family's own well-being.

Actually, this is a common trait among people these days. Our world is a competitive one which leads us to being self-centered and 'kia-su". Rarely do we spare a thought for others. When others fail, we not only do not sympathise with them, we actually cheer. This is a cause of concern and I feel it is about time that we change for the better. It is not necessary for us to allow others to take advantage of us but we could just help others when they are in need or support them when they are down. These simple acts would go along way to make this world a better place.

On the second point, the danger of ritualised behaviour is not a problem in Singapore as it is quite a modern country and most people think more scientifically and do not believe in such rituals (apart from Thaipusam which I will not elaborate on).

The final point is highly relevant in today's context. In today's circumstances, people are very concerned about how they appear to others both internally and externally. Therefore, people are always stick to status quo in fear of being rejected or laughed at by others. People rarely express their objections when majority of the people accept that idea or are alright with that way of life.

(Perhaps you want to listen to watch this track from High School Musical on YouTube.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIv5uwSKu88

In my opinion, this mindset seriously needs to be changed. In the story, some of the people were not happy with the lottery taking place. Mrs. Delacroix said that "there seems to be no time in between lotteries any more" and "it seems like we got through with the last one only last week". Mrs. Graves agreed when she replied, "Time sure goes fast". The men also shoed some signs of dislike for the lottery when "they stood together, away from the pile of stones". Also, Mr. Adams also talked about giving up the lottery. It can be seen that they do not believe in the ritual sacrifice having any purpose. However, they submitted to the status quo and none of them had the courage of properly protesting against the lottery taking place.

If something is not right, we should stand up and put our views forward. I am glad that my school has a PSB (Pupil Suggestion Board) on the SMB (Summary Message Board). It allows students to share their views on school policies, rules or problems they may face and how the school can rectify or improve (on) the situation. In spite of this, the problem that we face is that we are afraid to air our views in fear of objection. The only solution for this is for us to pluck up our courage and for people to be not so critical of others' ideas.

This just about sums up my feelings on how the story "The Lottery" can be relevant in today's context.