THE LOTTERY

  The video was shocking as much as the ending of 'The Lottery'. Both the graphics and the plot of the video were quite disturbing, mainly because it related contemporary issues with the problem of perennial rituals. Although the process of committing murder described in the video was much more humane than that illustrated in the short story, people were no different; without any logical thinking, these people blindly followed what is commonly accepted.

  How can people believe blindly in what is not proved, and has the full potential to be debunked any time? The problem lies in the society. Whether an axiom is correct or incorrect, once everyone starts to accept it as the genuine truth, this belief becomes a incontrovertible fact. The 'lottery ritual' described in 'The Lottery' is an example of how a perhaps inane and unsophisticated belief by the ancestors has withstood the test of time until it became an axiom for the villagers of 'The Lottery'.

  Perhaps both the author Shirley Jackson and the director of that South Park video clip are trying to emphasize how our sense of conformity is flawed, and this can lead to dystopia. Why did the townspeople of 'The Lottery' carry out the ritual every year? Why did the United States people all wish Britney to die? The reason is that these people's thoughts were fixed at the wrong perspective, and they remained inexorable. Although rudimentally wrong, the belief shared by other people had to also be shared by me. This is why conformity is bloodcurdling, how logic which you believed to be true can be rejected any time.

COMMENTS 
Rhee Ji Yoon: You started your essay with the subject, "the video"! I totally agree that the video was shocking, but I think your introductory paragraph would have been much effective if you had included a brief explanation or description about the video. There's not enought time left. I like your essay. I always like your style of writing! Simple but clear! Bye!

Yun Jo: Certainly right! these days some issues are coming up so frequently, and I think we can criticize such trends with your essay. Nicely done.

Chonghyun Ahn: I agree that the ostracism was groundless in the story, but I'd like to see more substantiation of what is the groundless axiom of today, and the way to sort out the axioms into two groups.

Hyejoon Lee: I think overall it was a good analysis of the story. I also had similar ideas you had, like the justification and the "tradition" thingy.

Jane: I agree with the points of "wholeness" and "conforming" that you've mentioned. Most people are basically doing what they are doing solely because all others are doing so. It would have been better if you included the motivations that could have led to the feeling of conforming among people.