The analysis and description of how society treats its members is much explored today, but the argument that society can be cruel and hateful was strongly rejected at the time of these publications of the works, which is the argument made by Ralph Ellison's "Battle Royal" and Shirley Jackson's "Lottery". For example, “Lottery,” published in 1948, caused a scandal because at the time, Americans saw themselves as part of a great and helpful country that had just defeated a great enemy in World War II. In "Lottery", a small town participates in a lottery, where the representative of a family draws a paper with a black dot, then each member of that family draws from the black box that contains the pieces of paper, one person draws the paper with a black dot. the black dot, and in turn be stoned to death. In the story, Tessie, the mother of the Hutchinson family, receives the blackhead and her community quickly turns against her, even in a hurry to get to their midday supper. Ellison's reenactment of a specific event of extreme racism and hatred also stirs up feelings that Americans would rather not admit. The narrator of "Battle Royal" grows up with the problematic words of his grandfather who was on his deathbed, still having mixed feelings about his place in society. For his graduation, he gives a speech about humility and the powerful white men of the community gather and he is invited to give his speech - but not without first being forced to get beaten up by d other young black boys and do the same. for them too, followed by a painful and embarrassing event motivated by the promise of money. The lives of the characters in both stories are used to portray human nature in a raw and unflattering state, as they are controlled by the standards that make up their environment. Jackson presents readers with a specific situation expressing the dangers of blindly following tradition while Ellison presents readers with a horror scene that expresses the cruel treatment of black people by powerful white men who also follow a tradition: racism. The innocent and oblivious narrator of “Battle Royal” explores a way of responding to racism through his state of confusion and uncertainty throughout the story. Tessie, the unfortunate victim chosen by the lottery to be stoned in "Lottery," is a statement of what happens when you don't challenge an established societal habit enough, or too late. In “Battle Royal” and “Lottery,” a crudely revealing depiction of human nature is presented through the most important characters in each story who represent specific statements about humans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay While “Lottery” is a story that reminds readers of a fairy tale – gone wrong – that probably never happened, and “Battle Royal” is grounded in historical reality, they are very similar in terms of the specific way in which human nature is expressed through the characters in the stories. Thomas Du Bose writes an article in Masterplots about the lottery in which he says that the members of the town are presented as wholesome people, that they have stereotypically normal attitudes and lives. So when they turn on their friend, a member of their community, it's hard to swallow. go down and understand (2). This rapidity in becoming murderers, even in small children, presents another idea of ​​human nature. Humans havethe instinct not to feel sympathy when they feel they are doing the right thing; they lack the motivation to question their actions, even when it is obvious that they are causing harm. On the other hand, the white community in "Battle Royal" most likely decides to act the way they do, they have the choice to engage in horrible acts of racism and cruelty, but they choose to do it anyway . This contrasts greatly with the "Lottery" community because that community simply follows the crowd and truly believes that what they are doing is right, while the "upright" white community in "Battle Royal" acts the way they do because that it is a form of pleasure. The image that Ellison creates of these men praising the battle royale and that Jackson creates when people begin to pick up rocks and walk towards Tessie reminds readers of collective violence and the science behind it. These large groups of characters are representative of another assertion that goes beyond mob violence and includes the setting, or restriction of place in which these communities exist. Both stories consist of small towns and a relatively small community, allowing for an intimate relationship between the characters. the author's intention regarding the themes of the stories and the roles of the characters. Editor Bernice M. Murphy's book of compiled essays on Shirley Jackson includes an essay on English Gothic that says: "Much of the power of the tale lies in the fact that, if one did not know the author and the origins of the tale, one could imagine. which occur in virtually every isolated rural community” (113). These small towns greatly influence the way the authors manipulate their characters to express their opinions on society. Mob violence becomes important in these stories when the violence begins and the violence itself determines the responses of both protagonists to the difficult situations in which they find themselves. In "Battle Royal", the "crowd" consists of white men singing about battle royal to young people. black boys are forced to participate. In this battle royale scene, the narrator is finally forced to question his previous thinking that humility was the right thing, the right way to live life. In "Lottery", the people of the small town were all convinced that the lottery was the right thing to do simply because "there's always been a lottery", and Tessie, the victim, also has the opportunity to bring back question the city's tradition. always followed (Jackson 142). In Ellison's story, the narrator makes the "mistake" of saying "social equality" rather than "social responsibility", and quickly the room goes silent, and the narrator rushes to correct himself or he experiences a passage at tobacco similar to that which he has just undergone. was coming towards him (Ellison, 275). Tessie and the narrator of “Battle Royal” are protagonists thrust into a situation where they are faced with the choice of whether or not to conform to what is expected of them, and risk some level of expulsion from the community. The protagonists of the stories are the narrator in "Battle Royal" and Tessie in "Lottery" – each character is developed through a story, given unique characteristics that illustrate their current level of conformity and lead to their transformation regarding their situation in their community. The narrator recalls his upbringing as a young black boy until his high school graduation. As a young boy, he hears the words of his dying grandfather that he is a spy who asks his family to "keep up the good fight» by teaching “young people” about his acts of undermining white men (Ellison 268). Editor John M. Reilly's book of compiled essays includes an essay by Floyd R. Horowitz in which he says: "At first we find him like a bear, by his own admission. He was to learn the tradition of Booker T. Washington: practical service to the black community, humble dignity (at least in public), intellectualized acceptance of white authority” (32). In his childhood he is a good student who idealizes humility, this becomes evident to the readers when the narrator recalls his graduation speech, which he speaks of with great fervor and passion, he is obviously very excited to deliver his speech. Yet when he actually gets the chance to give his speech, the white men don't even listen, and he is rewarded with more conformity: a scholarship to a black state university. After participating in the battle royal and being electrocuted, it is evident that he is no longer as confident in his beliefs of humility as before. This transformation is similar to what happens to Tessie. She is introduced in the story as the woman who forgot it was lottery day, was doing her chores, then realized what day it was and ran to the rally. At the end, she protests that the way her family, and ultimately her, were chosen wasn't fair, she says they didn't have enough time to properly sort the piece of paper. This moment, which feels like a moment of epiphany, happens to both characters: Tessie realizes that the tradition they have is not "right", and the narrator is introduced to the idea that the racist tradition of white man is not right and always will be. repress the black community. In “Lottery,” the three most important characters who represent different tendencies or human natures are Tessie, Old Man Warner, and Mr. Summers. Tessie, the woman who ends the story with her protests against the lottery and her unfortunate death, had such a free spirit that she actually forgot about the lottery that day. She only expressed her disagreement with the lottery when her family was in danger - this presents the idea that people are selfish, but also perhaps that a community is forced to accept tradition and does not have the possibility of protesting only when one's life is threatened (Du Bose 2). It's almost like people are being held captive until they have a reason to stop thinking the same way as everyone else who accepts whatever is thrown at them. The person promoting this exact idea is Old Man Warner, who has been participating in the lottery for 77 years. Du Bose describes Warner as "the embodiment of a rigid tradition" who firmly believes that the lottery allows them to survive, both mentally and physically. Among Warner's few lines, Warner mentions a saying that he obviously believes in: "Lottery in June, the corn will soon be heavy" (Jackson 142). No one in the town remembers many details about the lottery and many aspects of the tradition they have stopped practicing or simply forgotten. They continue the lottery “out of habit and sheer inertia,” explains Du Bose. Due to their lack of knowledge on how to go step by step with tradition, the town unofficially chose a man, Mr. Summers, to run the lottery, which includes creating slips of paper, calling people for them to take their slips of paper, and once a certain family "wins", calling on family members to take a slip, where one person will receive the fateful slip with a black spot, sealing their fate. Mr. Summers is highly trusted and respected, which becomes ironic when readers discover exactly whatthat he leads – which sounds a lot like a witch hunt. William Nelles writes an article in Masterplots: Women's Literature Series analyzing the "Lottery" in which he says: "A number of specific targets have been suggested for Jackson's story, including American society's obsession with finding scapegoats during the years of the Cold War and the House of Representatives. Un-American Activities Committee Witch Hunt” (2). The person who ends up dying has done virtually nothing wrong, just picked the wrong piece of paper, and readers can quickly understand the inference Jackson is making about American history, which includes the many acts of violence without reasoning, including witch hunts. , lynching, and any other act readers can think of. In “Battle Royal,” there are two individual characters who represent the most salient ideas about human nature, and one large group, the white community. The characters in "Battle Royal" who are representative of Ellison's statements are slightly different from those in "Lottery" due to the context in which those statements will apply: the battle royal. The white community resembles the town in "Lottery" when it comes to the idea of ​​mob violence because when the violence begins, the image the authors create for the readers is quite similar and the readers feel like they are one against many. In this story, a group of young boys are blindfolded and fight for no reason other than survival and involuntary habit, while the white people scream in enjoyment and drunkenness. The rich and powerful are a tool Jackson uses to interrogate the way of life in America – she challenges the idea that being in a respected position and in good economic standing means someone is not cannot have bad morals (Du Bose 2). As the men sing about the battle royal, the narrator undergoes the beginning of a radical transformation that is recounted in detail in Ellison's novel "Invisible Man," of which "Battle Royal" is the first chapter. Tessie and the narrator realize similar things about society in the stories, but different circumstances and characters help them achieve this. Towards the end of the battle royal, the narrator finds himself with another boy in the ring, named Tatlock. They are both badly beaten at this point, and the narrator suggests that Tatlock fake defeat so they won't continue fighting, but Tatlock responds, "I'll break your butt", and the narrator demands sarcastically if he does. this for the public, and Tatlock says he does it for himself. Andrew MacDonald writes an article in Masterplots: Short Story Series on “Battle Royal” and states: “[A theme,] social Darwinism, which metaphorically encourages individuals to fight to the end in order to receive rewards; the way in which the strongest and most cunning members of the black community take advantage of their fellow men, refusing to cooperate against the common white enemy, just as Tatlock refuses to feign defeat; the corrupting influence of awards and praise on the narrator himself; and the need for the white establishment to maintain American responses to racism and politics. » Just as Tatlock refuses to feign defeat, Tessie's husband refuses to help her. In fact, he takes steps to make sure she shows the piece of paper and stops protesting. In both stories, there is an ideology about good versus evil, and the group of white men are the embodiment of evil in this story, creating the harsh environment that black people must endure, thus creating the ».