"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."

Blindly Following Traditions : The Lottery VS. Hunger Games

The stories The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and Hunger Games Suzzane Collins both demonstrate how blindly following traditions is unfair and dangerous towards innocent individuals. Firstly, in The Lottery villagers follow the tradition of picking out names from “The Black Box” with the consequence of death in return while in The Hunger Games one boy and a girl between the ages of 12-18 are forced to participate in the hunger games if they are selected from “The Reaping”. Both of these situations of a lottery is unfair because the victims are being forced against even if they don’t want to participate or with the consequence of being stoned as in “The Lottery”. The victims are punished through an anonymous draw even though if they don’t deserve to be punished. 

 

 Secondly, blindly following traditions is not only unfair but severely dangerous. The story of “The Lottery” puts villagers in suspense and fear of their names being chosen. The Lottery begins with children of the village picking up rocks and making piles of stones. After the names have been picked the “Hutchinson’s” had no choice but death. In the Hunger Games the main characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are faced with killing teammate’s and survival against death. Both of the stories involve dangerous situations by force with the risk of dying. The Lottery and The Hunger Games prove how blindly following traditions, in this case which a lottery, is unfair and extremely dangerous.

Loss of Innocence

"To fight a war is not the greatest battle, but when you loose the one of your own blood, living with the guilt is the greatest fight against your self " - 

 -The Sniper