Different authors have examined the conflict of man vs. man over the ages. In the lottery, Jackson uses the society and their norms of practicing a deadly lottery to show how the conflict prevails. On the other hand, O’ Connor uses the Misfit and the grandmother to illustrate the conflict of man vs. man. In this regard, the paper analyzes the two stories to exemplify which one demonstrates the conflict in the best way.
Jackson gives a narrative of a lottery, which results in the random murder of a family member in the yearly festival. The lottery had been orchestrated for decades and had become a norm for the members of the town (Jackson, 2016). Indeed, Blind man Warner thinks that the cessation from the lottery would be disadvantageous to the village. The festival dehumanized the dwellers of the village in such a way that human life was of less importance in promoting the rituals of the festival (Jackson, 2016). Tessie Hutchinson is a victim of the lottery, and her husband openly displays her lottery choice to the village. Bill Hutchinson is not bothered that the lottery has chosen his wife as the next victim.
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On the other hand, the Misfit in O’ Conner’s story creates the meaning of his life through violence and killing. The character has little concern for Bailey’s family and orders their death without hesitation (O'Connor, 1953). Additionally, the Misfit has a useful theological and moral background from the stories of Jesus. Nevertheless, theological knowledge only fuels him to commit violence (O'Connor, 1953). The grandmother has similar orientations against man by justifying the bad attributes that good men should exemplify. Ideally, her conflict is with the goodness of man because her definition of goodness only presents bad attributes. In this regard, O’ Conner best presents the conflict of man in his story. Jackson’s presentation of conflict arises from the norms of the society, rather than an intrinsic conflict that pits man against man.
References
Jackson, S. (2016). The lottery 1948. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Classics.
O'Connor, F. (January 01, 1953). A good man is hard to find . Avon Book of Modern Writing, 186-199.
