The Hunger Games (Ch 1) vs The Lottery: Purpose of Lottery
- Yuying
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Abstract
This essay primarily focuses on the corrupt governmental systems, lottery activities, and similar genres & settings between the two stories, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Both novels reflect the influence of the corrupt society or government cast upon lottery events, such as the annual Lottery ceremony or the Hunger Games event. The Hunger Games introduces the deadly Hunger Games contest that takes place each year, with the primary goal of controlling the twelve Districts. The Capitol, which can be seen as the main, brutal government system in Panem, uses the Hunger Games to show the Districts its power. While the games are fabricated with enthusiasm and excitement for the audience, it is, in reality, a deadly contest that takes lives each year. Similarly, The Lottery introduces an ancient tradition that is still upheld by a fictional village. Each year, a lottery system takes place, where the ‘winner’ is stoned to death by the other citizens. This brutal way of sacrificing lives is also covered by the mirage and excuse of tradition.
—————————————————————————————————————
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, introduces the Hunger Games system in a dystopian world, Panem. The first chapter of the novel opens by introducing Katniss Everdeen, a citizen of District 12, who is prepared to participate in the annual reaping with her little sister, Prim. The Hunger Games was a deadly contest where each of the twelve districts would choose a girl and a boy, called tributes, through a reaping session, who would fight and kill each other until the last man standing. This was primarily used to control and punish the districts after they were defeated by the Capitol while attempting to rebel. Once Prim is chosen as the female tribute of District 12, Katniss volunteers to take her position. The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, introduces a similar concept, where people in a certain village were required to participate in an annual Lottery Event. Instead of winning money, however, the person who ‘won’ the Lottery would be stoned to death by the other villagers. This event was centered around the concept of an ancient tradition that was still upheld by some villages. In the short story, Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson is chosen as the ‘winner’ of the Lottery. Despite her cries and protests against the absurd concept of the Lottery, no one acknowledges her, and everyone starts throwing rocks. Tessie was never defended by her husband or her children, despite the fact that some people feel uneasy about sacrificing villagers annually for tradition.
Dystopian settings and governmental systems are significant features that contribute to the main course of several dystopian stories, which in this case, are The Hunger Games and The Lottery. The Hunger Games take place in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world, where the citizens of the community live in a harsh and strict environment. Dystopian literature is a genre of fiction novels that reflects an imaginary society in which people live harsh and wretched lives in a dehumanized and unpleasant community. In this case, the Hunger Games takes place in Panem, a fictional land that has risen “out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America” (Collins, 1). A common trope that is closely related to post-apocalyptic novels, a merge of dystopian literature and science fiction, recalls a societal and environmental collapse within a large community. While The Lottery also introduces a dystopian-like setting, it is less obvious and is fabricated by a seemingly harmonious setting. The Lottery takes place in a fictional village in the past, which seems peaceful and friendly; the short story opens with neighbors welcoming each other cheerfully, forging an illusion of a friendly community. However, in reality, the village organizes inhumane and brutal events, and the citizens don’t seem to raise an eyebrow at it. A comment on dystopian literature or the dystopian society by Tahereh Mafi in her book Shatter Me expresses its lack of humanity and negative impacts: “The new citizens of our world will be reduced to nothing but numbers, easily interchangeable, easily removable, easily destroyed for disobedience.” (Mafi, 6). Both novels introduce a dystopian setting and genre in different time eras; whilst The Hunger Games takes place in a futuristic society, The Lottery recalls a fictional village in the past, where civilization had not reached its full potential.
The influence of false and totalitarian governmental systems can be seen through their impact on humanity and the lottery events in the corresponding novels. In The Hunger Games, its lottery system, the Reaping sessions that commenced before the Hunger Games, was created by the Capitol after the thirteen districts’ rebellion against them failed. The Capitol defeated twelve of the districts and obliterated one into ashes. The Hunger Games were created to warn the Districts about their failed rebellion and display the immense power that the Capitol holds against them. Here, the Capitol represents the harsh, brutal government depicted in many dystopian novels. “‘Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don’t own me,’ says Peeta.” (Collins, 10). Similarly, the lottery ceremony in Shirley Jackson’s short story reflects the lack of humanity and the fabrications of tradition in its annual event. The short story opens with neighbors welcoming each other cheerfully, forging an illusion of a friendly community. However, in reality, the village organizes inhumane and brutal events, and the citizens don’t seem to raise an eyebrow at it. At the start of the short story, Old Man Warner and a few townspeople were talking about how other villages have already given up on The Lottery, most likely because they realized its brutality. However, Old Man Warner replied, “Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery.” (Jackson, 3). He is an example of one of the townspeople who blindly conform to society and tradition. The villagers, or the people arranging these ceremonies, use the excuse of keeping a ‘tradition’ to cover the inhumanity of their actions in sacrificing people each year. These lottery activities shown throughout both texts are fabricated by the appearance of tradition or entertainment, while in reality, they are used to control the community.
Oftentimes, in these deadly and tragic lottery events, there is a large contrast between the behaviours and feelings of the candidates or winners of the lottery and the audience or bystanders. In Panem, being chosen as a tribute was an indirect sign of one’s future death and was usually treated bitterly. Sponsors were citizens of the Capitol who would donate to the Hunger Games, most precisely a certain tribute, to provide them with the necessary equipment and items to help them in the arena. Other than tributes, everyone else, apart from the tributes and their family members, was depicted as onlookers who would spectate the games as the audience. “But there are others, too, who have no one they love at stake, or who no longer care, who slip among the crowd, taking bets on the two kids whose names will be drawn.” (Collins, 1). In contrast to the participants of the Hunger Games and their loved ones, sponsors, and the audience usually see the games as entertainment, rather than a deadly event. In the Lottery, the ‘winner’ of each year’s lottery, the one destined to be stoned to death, held different views from the other, temporarily safe citizens. In this case, Tessie Hutchinson was treated with hypocrisy and inconsiderateness by her family members: while she tried protecting her family when they were chosen are potential ‘winners’, they didn’t care about her when she was getting stoned to death. American actor Sterling K. Brown notes, “Empathy begins with understanding life from another person's perspective.” (Brown, 1). People don’t seem to realize others’ feelings when they aren’t yet standing in their place; this is a common case within The Hunger Games and The Lottery. Throughout both The Hunger Games and The Lottery, the candidates who are chosen to either participate in the games or to be stoned to death have different perspectives from the onlookers in the audience.
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, and The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, both reflect the influence of a corrupt government or society in a dystopian setting. Dystopian literature is a genre of fiction novels that reflects an imaginary society in which people live harsh and wretched lives in a dehumanized and unpleasant community. Dystopian settings can range from different time eras and fictional places, including the futuristic land of Panem in The Hunger Games and the unnamed, ancient village in The Lottery. Both settings include a faction or lottery-like event where the chosen ‘winners’ are either sacrificed or forcefully put in a deadly arena. In The Hunger Games, tributes are chosen through a lottery event, and they are to participate in the annual Hunger Games, where the 24 tributes fight each other until the last man standing. In The Lottery, a lottery ceremony is hosted each year as a tradition, where the ‘winner’ is sacrificed and stoned to death by the other villagers. Each novel shows the contrasting perspectives of the winner of the lottery and the audience or onlookers, reflecting the difference of perspective and brutality of these lottery events.
Works Cited
Collins, Suzanne. “The Hunger Games”, MCLA Weebly
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery”, wpmucdn.com
Mafi, Tahereh. “Shatter Me”, pdfdrive.com
Brown, Sterling K. “Where Empathy Begins”, dawnsoncollege