Comparing the Lottery Short Story and Antigone Short Story Essay Example

The two short stories, The Lottery and Antigone are both old interesting stories with significant similarities and interconnections. Both of them have some element of uniqueness in them from the characters, to the plot, and the general purposes. However, an in-depth analysis of the two reveals the substantial similarities that exist between the two, not only in the characters but also in the message, challenges, among other factors.

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Taking an example of the character Tessie Hutchison who is the main character in The Lottery, she is an honest mother of three, and unlike the other women portrayed by the story, she is actively playing her role in her marriage (Jackson). Despite being a woman, and contrary to the customs, she is the only character in this story to come out loudly condemning how the Lottery is conducted. As her husband goes up to draw, she calls out his name, and this leads to loud laughter from the rest of the crowd. From the time she comes into the story, Tessie is portrayed to be disruptive. Despite arriving late, she forces everyone to accommodate her presence. This gives her the trait of being selfish (Jackson). She immediately calls for a redo after the results of the first round. This reveals that she is willing to sacrifice others at the essence of her good. She further portrays her selfishness by demanding that her married daughter participates in the Lottery, which is against the customs.

In Antigone, Antigone, who is the main character, has a different take in life as compared to Tessie in The Lottery. Antigone is a brave woman, but she exercises her bravery under the law. Antigone portrays great love for her family members, and regardless of the underlying consequences, she decides to bury her brother Polyneices against the King's verdict. She comes out strongly to condemn anyone trying to stop her, her sister being one of them (Griffith, 69). Antigone was driven by morale, and she was sure that she was doing the right thing, and therefore not afraid of the consequences. In both the case of Tessie in The Lottery and Antigone in The Antigone, the consequences are death. Antigone acts boldly to show love to her family despite the results, and Tessie also does the same.

In the two short stories, some characters change and those who remain the same throughout the story. In Antigone, Creon, who is the King, keeps changing throughout the story. His consciousness seems to be awakening during the play, involving an improved understanding of his family and his duty. In particular, he shows compassion towards his niece, Antigone. Antigone is also close-minded at the beginning of the story, but as the story progresses, she opens her mind. Creon rise to the position of the King after the death of Polyneices and Eteocles, and orders that Eteocles be given a state sendoff and Polyneices not to be buried. However, Antigone at this point begin to be open-minded and decides that Creon is not powerful enough to stop her from burying her brother, something she believes will give her brother Polyneices peace in the underworld. When her sister Ismene tries to stop her from doing this, Antigone warns her and tells her that she and the dead will be hating her soon.

In The Lottery, Mr. Summers is one of the characters who do not change throughout the story. He has a cheerful personality, and he is an outgoing man. His powers in the village seem to have been assigned arbitrarily, and despite her family status, he is comfortable with no child and runs his business smoothly. The people in the town pity him for having a nagging wife, but he is not changing for that, and he remains jovial. Another character who does not change in this story is the oldest man Mr. Warner. It is 77 years since he started participating in the Lottery and denounces the young individuals from other towns who have stopped participating in the Lottery. He has always believed that it is only through the Lottery that the people will not return to the brutal state.

In the Lottery, family bonds are very significant. But since the family members quickly turn against one another, the emphasis on family only leads to heightened cruelty and killings. Families stand together in the square in groups, and all the members of the family must be present. The heads of the families have their names in the list held by Mr. Summers, and it is from this list that a person is selected to draw from the box. However, the family ties are only crucial during the lottery action, and after that, the relationships mean nothing when it comes to the stoning of the unlucky victim. For example, immediately it comes to the attention of the members that Tessie has picked the paper with the mark, everyone, including her family members, begin to stone her. Everything in the story is determined by the family ties, but such bonds do not guarantee love or loyalty after the Lottery (Jackson).

In Antigone, the family relationship is dominated with honor and loyalty. This is evident in the life of Antigone after the death of her two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, who during a war, both dies at each other's hands as they were cursed by their father Oedipus (Bobrick). Because of the new King, Polyneices cannot have a friendly burial, but due to family loyalty and love, Antigone who is his sister decides to go against all the odds to offer his brother an appeasing burial.

The plot ending of Antigone is sad. After giving Eteocles a proper burial, and Creon who is the uncle to Antigone takes over the throne, and issues a royal judgment stopping the funeral of Polyneices as he believes he was a traitor. Polyneices sister, Antigone, disobeys the law and buries her brother leading to her detention. Creon goes to the prison to look for her but finds out she has killed herself. On the other hand, the plot ending of The Lottery is equally sad. The real purpose of the Lottery is not told by the author until the very end when the winner who is Tessie is stoned to death by friends and family. It is at this shocking point that our understanding of the story ultimately takes a dramatic turn.

Conclusion

Poets view on love in the two stories have not changed. In Antigone, love for the family by Antigone is based on loyalty and honor, both in life and in death. In The Lottery, the author chooses not to reveal the meaning of love not until the end of the story when we realize that what we thought to be loved was an egocentric act aimed at protecting oneself.

Works cited

Bobrick A. E. What the Greek tragedy Antigone can teach us about the dangers of extremism. The Conversation, 2019. https://theconversation.com/what-the-greek-tragedy-antigone-can-teach-us-about-the-dangers-of-extremism-114814

Griffith, Mark, ed. Sophocles: Antigone. Cambridge University Press, 1999. https://mthoyibi.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/antigone_2.pdf

Jackson, Shirley. "The lottery." The New Yorker 26 (1948): 25-28. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/38424002.pdf

Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery Main Ideas. Sparknotes, 2019. https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-lottery/motifs/