The Lottery: The Duality Of Human Nature
What is the duality of Human Nature? The duality of Human Nature is the belief that every human being has a good side and a bad side, and in “ The Lottery” you can see some great examples of this.Just a few characters that are good examples include, Bill Hutchinson, Nancy, Bill Jr, and Davy.
Bill Hutchinson is character in the short story “The Lottery” who is a great example to use when it comes to the duality of Human Nature. Bill is the unlucky person who wins the lottery, putting his family at risk of death. When they redraw to see who in the family will die, his wife is the unlucky contestant. Bill has no trouble showing everyone that his wife had gotten the wretched paper, and on top of that, he showed no signs of grief or sorrow.
This is a woman who he has had children with, yet he doesn’t care that she is going to be getting stoned to death by the entire village. If anything, one can assume that he was just relieved he could live for another year in peace. Although Bill was a great example, a more eerie example would be the children of Tessie and Bill Hutchinson, Nancy and Bill Jr. As their family was drawing paper to see which of them would die, the text says “...and both beamed and laughed, turning to the crowd holding their slips above their heads.” These children were so relieved that they were not about to have a painful death, that the thought of their parents having one didn’t even affect them. At least Bill seemed neutral, these kids were laughing and smiling knowing that one of their parents was going to be sentenced to death, which is unsettling to say the least. Although there are plenty more examples of the way this town shows the duality of Human Nature, a very shocking one is the children giving pebbles to Tessie’s own son, Davy, to throw at her. This town was celebrating the stoning of one of their own, and even the children participated in the stoning of their mother. “The Lottery” has some great examples of the duality in Human Nature, and these are just a few of them. The short story is full of many more wonderful examples waiting to be uncovered.
Bill Hutchinson is character in the short story “The Lottery” who is a great example to use when it comes to the duality of Human Nature. Bill is the unlucky person who wins the lottery, putting his family at risk of death. When they redraw to see who in the family will die, his wife is the unlucky contestant. Bill has no trouble showing everyone that his wife had gotten the wretched paper, and on top of that, he showed no signs of grief or sorrow.
This is a woman who he has had children with, yet he doesn’t care that she is going to be getting stoned to death by the entire village. If anything, one can assume that he was just relieved he could live for another year in peace. Although Bill was a great example, a more eerie example would be the children of Tessie and Bill Hutchinson, Nancy and Bill Jr. As their family was drawing paper to see which of them would die, the text says “...and both beamed and laughed, turning to the crowd holding their slips above their heads.” These children were so relieved that they were not about to have a painful death, that the thought of their parents having one didn’t even affect them. At least Bill seemed neutral, these kids were laughing and smiling knowing that one of their parents was going to be sentenced to death, which is unsettling to say the least. Although there are plenty more examples of the way this town shows the duality of Human Nature, a very shocking one is the children giving pebbles to Tessie’s own son, Davy, to throw at her. This town was celebrating the stoning of one of their own, and even the children participated in the stoning of their mother. “The Lottery” has some great examples of the duality in Human Nature, and these are just a few of them. The short story is full of many more wonderful examples waiting to be uncovered.