The Lottery and the Most Dangerous Game

Fictional stories are just one gateway for some people to express themselves and others to relate to and escape from normal, everyday life. As we look at the two stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell we will look at the different conflicts that appear, the different ways each major character experiences conflict, and how these conflicts are eventually resolved.
In the short story “The Lottery” a small village of about three-hundred people is depicted. The author describes a quiet friendly little town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. As the story goes on, the reader discovers that the town is assembling for what they refer to as the lottery. This event happens every year and we soon find out, from the reactions of the winner of the lottery, that it is not something one wants to win. The village gathers, light-heartedly making jokes and chatting. The Hutchinson family was the unfortunate winners of the first round and now they must draw among themselves. Mrs. Hutchinson makes an accusation that her husband simply did not have enough time to draw a good slip of paper. The reader can definitely identify this as the first conflict in this story. A woman, who previously had no objections to this yearly event, is now protesting the unfairness of its outcome. The reader begins to wonder what this lottery really is, as that seems an inappropriate response to a good thing. The tension in the story rises as the Hutchinson family prepares to draw again, presenting the second conflict. People in the crowd announce who they do not want to win and they hold their breaths when the youngest Hutchinson child draws first, hoping it is not him. It is soon revealed that Mrs. Hutchinson has been the unlucky winner of this year’s lottery.
Mrs. Hutchinson, or Tessie, begins suffering conflict the minute her family’s name was drawn. She begins to realize the cruelty and horrific irony behind this village tradition. She