Blog #3 -- "The Lottery" theme

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself with the concept of that it can be acceptable to require the individual to sacrifice for the greater good. The entire ordeal itself is a sacrifice that is made in order to ensure a good crop. There's even a rhyme that goes along with it: "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon." Everyone in this society has accepted the fact that one of them will die because of the lottery and that their death means that those who remain alive will have a plentiful crop and won't fall upon hard times. This doesn't always happen in modern times quite like it happens in "The Lottery," but there are some people who sacrifice a lot for the greater good. For instance, quite recently a lot of Nez Perce Tribal members (along with other supporters) protested the passing of the megaloads that were on the way up to Canada's Tar Sands. A lot of people were arrested and while many of them were able to make bail, I know that there was a few that had to sit time for a little bit. These protesters knew the risks when they stood in front of that truck in order to defend what they believed was right, and many of them did pay a price. The megaloads DID go through, but the protesters did what they could in order to sacrifice their freedom for the greater good, in a sense.