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Comparison of the lesson by Toni Cade and the lottery by Shirley Jackson
The story the Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara reflects the experiences of an educated person, Miss Moore living in an economically deprived neighborhood. Narrated from a first-person, the reader demonstrates the inequality embedded in the society where the poor can barely afford a living while the affluent population buys expensive toys for their children. On the other hand, the lottery by Shirley Jackson was written in a third-person perspective to criticize undesirable traditions in this village, which stoned one member annually to cleanse the society. The two stories are written in a similar time, gauging by different indicators of time. Both stories reflect deeply on the inequalities embedded in society and deter their real meaning until the end of the individual story. Although the two stories demonstrate a sharp contrast in the societies and the narrator’s point of view, they bring out substantial thematic similarities using a common rhetoric technique.
One theme that emerges in both stories is the theme of inequality. In the lesson, the residents of the slums and their children hated Miss Moore because of her appearance, which reflected her affiliation with a higher social class. Besides, she had a college education, which opened her eyes to see the inequality in this society. The living conditions of the children she was trying to were living in government social housing initiatives, while the affluent population was spending significant amounts of money in F.A.O Schwarz. Later, inequality becomes transparent from the children’s commentary on how expensive toys were, ‘I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs’ (Bambara 95). However, among the children, Mercedes came from a wealthy family, and she knew her grandmother could afford this expensive toy. The other children are nevertheless convinced that they must be rich for a person to shop here, which is justifiable according to their living conditions and their African American vernacular (Heller 285). The lesson that Miss Moore wanted the children to learn was that equality is an elusive aspect in society, which the children perceive only vaguely.
On the other hand, the lottery represents the social stratification evident in a society living in the primitive age. The lottery issue had been their tradition for many years, evidenced by the old worn-out black box used to conduct the ritual. Inequality, in this case, exists along gender lines. For instance, Mrs. Dunbarn is openly questioned on her decision to pick a paper for her family; ‘don’t you have a grown boy to do it for you Janey?’ (Jackson). This society placed women at a lower position and only believed in men’s dominion in the society. Besides, while others were given the wood chips, the random distribution of the papers is suggestive evidence that not all families were equal. In this case, the paper, whether taken to mean lottery or paper money, is symbolic of how much life can be left up to the gambles of choice.
The two stories also have a common aspect in their plots. In the lesson, the author narrates from a first-person perspective until the narrator is intimidated and asks Miss Moore why she brought them to the store, at which point Miss Moore says, ‘you sound angry, Sylvia. Are you mad about something?’ (Bambara 95) The relevance of concealing the narrator’s name until this point was to tie her with the lesson; that she had been affected by Miss Moore’s lesson and was feeling the weight of wealth inequality. Whether she would fight about this is up to her as she later says, ‘aint nobody gonna beat me at nuthin (Bambara 96).’
Similarly, the reader only became aware of the real meaning of ‘the lottery’ when the winner Tessie Hutchison is stoned by her family and friends (Stevens 227). This late revelation marks a dramatic turning point of understanding the story, revealing human hypocrisy. Tessie Hutchinson was so willing to participate in the stoning until she became the victim of the same.
However, these two stories portray sharp contrasts. While Tonie Cade presents her opinion through the first person narrating in the lesson, Shirley Jackson distances herself from the ritual by taking an observer’s position. Again, as presented in the two stories, the two societies have stark differences with each other. In the lesson, the society in question exists in the suburbs, as a product of unequal wealth distribution. In this society, the reader can tell that one has a choice on the kind of life to lead depending on opportunities or whether they chose to fight the inequality prevalent in this society or resign to it (Heller 281).
On the other hand, the society presented in the lottery cannot be denied by any member. Sacrificing the winner of the annual lottery was interpreted as an effective way of cleansing the entire society. In this society, it is apparent that although people were getting tired of the tradition, change is unwelcome, gauging by the disdain the community held for those who tried to fault the annual ritual (Stevens 231). This village’s residents are bonded by this eternal ritual, which no one knows when it started nor when it would end. The author paints the ceremony so powerfully like an unopposed force of nature.
In conclusion, the lesson and the lottery are stories from two different societies but with certain similarities. In the lottery, the society is spanned by a strong tradition of annual human sacrifice, which the author disdains by taking a third-person perspective. However, in the learner, society is construed to be divided by social inequalities derived by unequal wealth distribution. However, in both stories, the author conceals the story’s turning points to mark the most important lessons learned. The stories also share a similar theme of inequalities, which Is manifested differently in each story’s course.
Works Cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. “The lesson.” Gorilla, my love (1972): 85-96.
Heller, J. (2003). Toni Cade Bambara’s Use of African American Vernacular English in “The Lesson”. Style, 37(3), 279-293. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/style.37.3.279
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery (1948).” The Treasury of American Short Stories (1949).
STEVENS, J. (2010). Locating the Enigma of Shirley Jackson. In God-Fearing and Free: A Spiritual History of America’s Cold War (pp. 220-242). Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvjsf58z.12