The Importance Of Individuality In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

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What makes anyone different than the person sitting next to them? We are all humans, so how is there any difference between us? The difference is within our actions and our beliefs. When someone loses their individual beliefs or does not take action when he thinks he should, that person becomes just another human, no different than anyone else. This is also known as “following the crowd”. Following the crowd can lead to terrible consequences. This is shown in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Individuality is what keeps this world going, and without it, nothing about our society or world would be the same.
Firstly, without individual beliefs everyone goes through the same thoughts, same rituals, and the same routine over and over again. Nothing is ever petitioned against and nothing ever is argued as wrong. The reader can see this in “The Lottery” when no one questions the lottery’s wrongfulness. “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson 5). The members of the community did not know why they had to kill the …show more content…
There are many consequences that can come from following the crowd and losing individuality. When everyone acts the same, then all of us will make the same mistakes. No one will be there to correct us if we are wrong, because no one is enough of an individual to speak out. Also, when everyone loses their uniqueness, anyone who opposes the crowd is wrong. Such as in “The Lottery” when Tessie tried to argue that her husband was rushed in picking his slip and that it was unfair. Even though she had a valid point, she was considered wrong and told to shut up by even her own husband (4). No matter if she was right or wrong, everyone in the village took her as a sore loser and ignored her claims. When everyone is just following the crowd, anyone that stand out is an outsider and considered
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