The Lottery and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas are two very different stories, but they both explore the dark side of human nature. The Lottery is a story about a small town that holds a lottery every year, and the winner is stoned to death. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a story about a perfect city where everything is perfect, except for one thing – there is a child who is kept in a horrible basement dungeon.
Both of these stories are dystopias, which means that they are not happy endings. They both explore the idea that humans can be cruel and heartless, and that sometimes people are willing to sacrifice one person or group of people in order to maintain their own happiness.
The Lottery is a much more violent story than The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, and it is set in a small, rural town. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is set in a glamorous city, and the child who is kept in the dungeon is never seen. However, both of these stories are about people who are willing to do terrible things in order to maintain their own happiness or peace of mind.
Both of these stories are important because they ask us to question what we are willing to do in order to be happy. Are we willing to sacrifice someone else’s happiness, or are we willing to walk away from our perfect life and find something else? These are difficult questions, but they are important ones to consider.
When compared to the numerous parallels that exist between “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, the differences between the two appear minor. Each of the stories starts with a description of a lovely summer day. In “The Lottery,” there’s this line: “The flowers were in bloom abundantly and the grass was lushly green” (para 1).
The setting in each story is pleasant and mellow, which makes the events that take place later all the more shocking. The use of symbols is also eerily similar in each story. In “The Lottery”, readers are introduced to the black box which is used in the lottery and is filled with slips of paper, each containing a person’s name.
This box represents tradition and the blind acceptance of violence. The black color of the box could also symbolize death. In “…Omelas”, there is a child who is kept in a cellar, representing the dark side of human nature that Omelans try to ignore. This child is malnourished, beaten, and filthy, representing the ugliness of humanity.
The theme of each story is also very similar. Both stories explore the dark side of human nature and the horror that can exist when people blindly follow tradition or accept an ugly reality. However, “The Lottery” ends with the reader feeling a sense of resignation, while “…Omelas” leaves readers with a sense of hope.
In “The Lottery”, Mrs. Hutchinson accepts her fate and silently rejoins the other villagers. In contrast, in “…Omelas”, when someone asks Le Guin what happens to the child after he or she walks away from Omelas, she says “I do not know. I do not understand it”(para 14). This response leaves readers with a sense of hope, as it shows that there is still some good in the world.
Though “The Lottery” and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” are different in some ways, the similarities between them are much more striking. Both stories explore the dark side of human nature, and both end with a feeling of resignation or hope, depending on how the reader interprets the ending.
In both stories, the descriptions (as well as a few more) evoke positive feelings and invite the reader to relax into what appears to be a pleasant environment. In “… there is music, dance, and special clothing in Omelas’ gathering; whereas in The Lottery,’s the women appear “wearing frayed house dresses and sweaters.” Although Le Guin’s world appears to be more festive than that of Hrabalova, all of the people in both tales are gathering together for what seems to be enjoyable or joyful events.
However, appearances can be deceiving. Whereas in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” the reader is privy to the child’s torture, in “The Lottery,” the true horror of the story is not revealed until the end. In “The Lottery,” Mrs. Hutchinson unknowingly arrives late and must stand in as the scapegoat for the village’s sins.
Both stories are about people who are willing to sacrifice an individual for the good of the community. However, the townspeople in “The Lottery” are not aware of what they are doing, while those in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” are fully conscious of the child’s suffering.
In “The Lottery,” the residents are willing to follow tradition even if it means killing an innocent person. They do this because they believe that it is what is best for the community. The people in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” are also willing to sacrifice an individual, but they do it because they believe that it is wrong to keep someone in misery when they could be happy.
Although both stories have dark undertones, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” provides a more hopeful ending. The reader is left with the knowledge that there are people who are willing to fight for justice, even if it means leaving their home. “The Lottery” has a more ambiguous ending. It is not clear whether the villagers are willing to start over and do things differently, or if they will continue to follow tradition.
Both stories are about the dark side of human nature, but they present it in different ways. “The Lottery” is more subtle, while “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is more explicit. Le Guin provides the reader with more context, which allows them to understand why the characters act the way they do. Jackson does not provide as much context, which leaves the reader with more questions. Although both stories are disturbing, I think that “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is more powerful because it provides a resolution.
