Theme Of Irony In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Lottery
“’Too far! Too far!’ exclaimed the goodman…” (Hawthorne). Young Goodman Brown struggles with his intended participation in a sinful ritual and the public morality of the Puritans. Likewise, some of the townsfolk in “The Lottery” start questioning if the lottery should be abandoned. Through the use of irony and symbolism, both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Shirley Jackson address the theme of blindly following a social norm to disastrous ends.
Names, titles and objects are points of irony in “Young Goodman Brown.” Hawthorne gives the characters names and titles that turn out to be ironic. Common titles among the Puritans were “goodman” and “goody”. This showed their determination to be publicly moral, however in this story, the characters (at least …show more content…
They are similar to the Pharisees in the Bible who are described by Jesus as “white-washed tombs” (Matthew 23:27 NLT). The dream revealed to Brown that they were living lies. Putting on a show for everyone, but hiding secret sins, can only lead to mistrust. “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not desperate man did he become…” (Hawthorne). Brown ended up a miserable, faithless man. “The Lottery” paints a bleak picture of a town blindly following a tradition of ritual murder. Over time, details and paraphernalia of the original lottery were either lost or abandoned, but the town continued to hold to the yearly ritual of stoning an innocent person. It is unclear why the lottery was instituted, but it is clear that many fear giving it up. “Nothing but trouble in that” (Jackson), was Old Man Warner’s response to the idea. In the end, an innocent woman is stoned to death howling, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson).
Both “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” tell stories of towns that are stuck following a social norm or tradition. Both stories end badly for a main character. Brown ends up distrusting everyone he cared for, and Tessie ends up dead. It is through irony and symbolism, that Nathaniel Hawthorne and Shirley Jackson posit the notion that blindly following a social norm or tradition can lead to
Names, titles and objects are points of irony in “Young Goodman Brown.” Hawthorne gives the characters names and titles that turn out to be ironic. Common titles among the Puritans were “goodman” and “goody”. This showed their determination to be publicly moral, however in this story, the characters (at least …show more content…
They are similar to the Pharisees in the Bible who are described by Jesus as “white-washed tombs” (Matthew 23:27 NLT). The dream revealed to Brown that they were living lies. Putting on a show for everyone, but hiding secret sins, can only lead to mistrust. “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not desperate man did he become…” (Hawthorne). Brown ended up a miserable, faithless man. “The Lottery” paints a bleak picture of a town blindly following a tradition of ritual murder. Over time, details and paraphernalia of the original lottery were either lost or abandoned, but the town continued to hold to the yearly ritual of stoning an innocent person. It is unclear why the lottery was instituted, but it is clear that many fear giving it up. “Nothing but trouble in that” (Jackson), was Old Man Warner’s response to the idea. In the end, an innocent woman is stoned to death howling, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson).
Both “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” tell stories of towns that are stuck following a social norm or tradition. Both stories end badly for a main character. Brown ends up distrusting everyone he cared for, and Tessie ends up dead. It is through irony and symbolism, that Nathaniel Hawthorne and Shirley Jackson posit the notion that blindly following a social norm or tradition can lead to