Blog #4

This past week we read the stories "Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison and "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. One thing that I found interesting about both stories was despite having completely different plots, they both shared similar themes. The most prevalent theme between these two stories is the theme of brutality and the cruelty of mankind. In Battle Royal the boys fight each other in a ring to the amusement of evil white men who bet on and enjoy the event. Not only are they cruel to the fighters but to the female dancer as well who they banter and grope at. However in The Lottery the brutality is less for enjoyment but instead for tradition. In the story the villagers all enter their names into a lottery and one of them is chosen and stoned to death for the purpose of good harvest. I found it interesting that the whole story made it seem like the village was a normal place, until you find out in the very end that someone is being stoned to death. Although the brutality is much more severe in The Lottery both stories share the same theme. Another thing I found interesting is that both stories have been reused at one time or another. Stephens King's novel "The Running Man" is similar to that of Battle Royal in which "contestants" are forced to fight to the amusement of others. The plot of The Lottery also seemed eerily similar to that of the British classic "The Wicker Man" where a man is burned alive for good harvest.