Analysis of two stories

¶ … Shirley Jackson's

"the Lottery" and Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour."

Life is all about change and many short stories illustrate how people will change or how they will never change at all. Two stories that demonstrate change in two very different ways are Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour." In each story, we find characters that face change and their different reactions to that change as well as the results of that change. In order for people to see the benefit in change, they must be open to the idea that not all change is bad. Change is only possible when an individual is able to accept the fact that something good can come from it. Another significant notion about change that both of these stories represents is the fact that individuals cannot be afraid of change. In "The Lottery," the townspeople are so afraid of change, they will continue to kill their own to keep from facing change. What is interesting about this fact is that anything would be better than their current circumstance but they are afraid and their fear paralyzes them. On the other hand, Louise is not afraid of change. She welcomes it with open arms and, as a result, she sees a bright, new life ahead of her.

In Jackson's "The Lottery," the townspeople face a unique opportunity to change the way they do things - more than once. In fact, every year the people can do away with the lottery but they are afraid of change and what it might bring. It is interesting to note that they may even be more afraid of the lottery than they are of change but because they are so accustomed to their way of life. The townspeople illustrate how we can become comfortable in our daily lives and, as a result, lose our sense of what is right and wrong. "The Lottery" also illustrates how people become so familiar with their daily routine that the idea of change, regardless of how good the change may be, seems too difficult. The townspeople gather on the same day every year partake of the lottery that they do not even like. We read that the "original paraphernalia" (Jackson 214) for the lottery was lost "long ago" (214) so the townspeople do not even know why they have the lottery or for how long they have held onto this tradition. In essence, the people have become proverbial creatures of habit because no one had the courage to "upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box" (214). They are literally frozen with fear.

Tessie is the perfect catalyst for change but even she cannot shake the townspeople from their old habits. Everyone knows what will happen to her and it seems all everyone can think is how they are glad that it did not happen to them - this year. Tessie has to speak up because she has nothing to lose. She exclaims that the lottery "isn't fair" (218), but no one will agree with her (out loud). Instead, the townspeople are encouraged to get the dirty deed over with so life can return to normal. "The Lottery" demonstrates how we can become fearful of change when we allow our lives to stay in the same rut for too long.

Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" illustrates what happens when we are open to change. Louise did not really know how unhappy she was until she saw the opportunity for change. However, once she accepted the change that life was presenting her, she felt alive. We read that her "pulse beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body" (Chopin 636) when she realized what the news of her husband's death meant. Louise felt that there were "no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and believe that have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" (636). Louise was willing to give up the idea of love for the "possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being" (636). Louise is the perfect example of someone that turns a tragedy into a positive experience. She could not change what had happened to her and rather than be come weak and fearful, she decides to take charge of her life and do something different. In short, she was not afraid.