The Lottery Veldt Analysis

Although the short stories “The Lottery” and “The Veldt” have completely different settings and time periods, the one common theme that runs through both stories is the tendency of human nature to use violence to accomplish its goals. In both stories, selfishness drives the characters to commit horrific acts of murder.

In Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery,” the villagers use the excuse of an annual ritual to literally execute one of their own in the mistaken belief that it will help them enjoy a bountiful crop each year. It’s a classic case of human sacrifice that goes back thousands of years, to biblical times, when farmers would use sacrifices of animals and sometimes humans to appease “the gods.”

No one in the