Sociological Criticism Lottery Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

The three literary works that have been selected for this paper are The Lottery, The Yellow Wallpaper, and The Allegory of the Cave. All three of them would be scrutinized on the line of sociological criticism to closely examine the artist’s society and its values that have impacted the literary work. Further, the relation of these works with each other would also be elucidated for better interpretation of the cultural relevance today.

The first literary work, The Lottery, was written by Shirley Jackson and highlighted social aspects. It was greatly criticized by the readers, roughly due to its publication during Second World War and secondly, because of the mood, suspense, and tone that it has laid out being entirely unpredictable at various instants. The pleasant beginning of the story and the playful behavior of the people of the story contrasted with what was coming in the next sections, which was completely volatile. The arrangements were being held as if there was a celebration, although it was a mere lottery for the ‘lucky’ one who the rest of the community members would kill. With foreshadowing technique, social terms like mob psychology, the ability of humans to generate violence, community power, and passion for committing a crime are in place within this literary work. Also, a historic cultural aspect called Paganism is seen in its cultural lines. It refers to allowing traditional practices in collaboration with other people of the same society, even if it is wrong. It was heart-wrenching and mind-bending to know when Tessie, a character in the same story, was selected as the one to be killed by her community members, even her family. This shows herd mentality that persists even today, despite education and modernism. Even if one wants to disobey or disagree, he becomes a subject of disapproval by the others who might be wrong but are united on one thought, acting together socially and displaying community compliance.

The second literary work, The Yellow Wallpaper, is written by Charlotte Perkins Stetson. The social aspect highlighted in this story is mental health problems after marriage and men deeming themselves superior to women. The treatment of women has been inferior to men, and they are considered a second class of the society who are always meant to subjugate. Men think that women do not have their voice, and if they do say something, it is something of ridicule, as the protagonist of the story mentioned about her husband “John laughs at me, of course, but no one expects that in marriage.” (Stetson 647). The respect given by the male counterparts is not at par with the expectations of the women, and therefore women have been teased, causing and adding to the mental stress of this gender. It might be due to the gender roles defined by our society for men and women distinctly, especially in a marriage that assigns women a subordinate status rather than encouraging them and become equal. This criticism has been reflected in the story and highlighted the females’ content struggles for equality and a demonstration of the societal reaction upon this action of hers. The contrast the narrator has shown of the small place the protagonist is living in and the jail-like imprisonment for her mental treatment gives a clear picture of the small to almost none freedom that women are given in various geographical locations and cultures of the world. The despair and hopelessness that the story’s character has been filled with could be easily seen in her sentence when she says, “And what can one do?” Still, she manages to escape her husband’s strong grip in the climax as a result of the internal conflict that he had created over her with his mocking words each time. When the husband could not take her rebellious actions, the wife could continue to follow her ways despite his opposition. The yellow wallpaper stood as a symbol for itself, signifying the meaning of self-reflection and beyond it.