Compare ""The Lottery" and "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas"

Throughout history parables have permeated every culture. Mostly, it has been seen in religious texts. For example, there is the Bible, Qur 'an, and Rig-Veda. Most of their history was passed down orally. Today 's society is lucky enough to have the printing press which gives people many stories to read and think about. Two of these stories that are related to parables are "The Lottery" and "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas". Both of these stories use allegory which are hidden in interesting waysIn "The Lottery" and "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas", the beautiful scene at the beginning of these two short stories along with the dark underbelly endings shows that we are inherently evil. It is no surprise that each story starts on a warm sunny day, a day when characters in a story should fall in love. The author of "The Lottery" begins her tale on June twenty seventh. The characters in the story gather round in groups while talking and gossiping. The tone of the story suggests that some underlying excitement is stirring within the townspeople. One cannot grasp the evil waiting in the hearts of the Characters until till the end of the story upon which a woman is stoned to death by everyone in the town, including her family. "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" is another story in which a beautiful sunny day turns into despair and hopelessness. The author of "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" writes to convince one that this utopian society does not feel guilty in the least. When one discovers the child in the broom closet, one will become aware that the whole of this utopian society depends on this child 's suffering. Contrary to what the author wrote in the beginning of the story, the people of Omelas do feel guilt but they justify that guilt by saying the child suffers for the good of the people.

These two stories represent totalitarian government. A totalitarian government oppresses all citizens in that society. In "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" the

Cited: ackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." in An Introduction to Literature. Ed . Russell. Boston:Pearson, 2008. 105-112LeGuin, Ursula. "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" in An Introduction to Literature. Ed. Russell. Boston: Pearson, 2008. 124-129