“The Lottery” vs “A Worn Path”

“A Worn Path”

This is a story of love, hope and persistence that eventually pays off. On a warm morning, a black American woman, Phoenix Jackson, takes a path from her rural area to a town where she can get medicine for her ailing grandson. It is a tough journey, full of obstacles, but it has to be made anyway, due to the great love the woman has for her grandson (Welty, 3). Her age does not allow her to walk upright. Therefore, she uses a cane to tap on the worn path as she progresses, little knowing that the cane made some noise that could create many obstacles to her journey. The wild animals, thick bushes and thickets that occasionally caught her dress, adverse weather and wind that deterred her journey, uphill and steep slopes; all these were obstacles she had to go through (Welty, 7). The hardest of the trials was passing across a creek through a log that was placed cutting across. She falls into a ditch, but is fortunately helped out by a hunter. The way the young man addresses the old woman displays sarcasm and racism (Welty, 18). She attempts to steal a shiny nickel from the hunter. After the long, tedious and triumphant journey, she finally arrives to her destination (Welty, 24). Her mission is to obtain medication for her grandson, but it is misinterpreted for charity seeking. While she arrives in the city, it was Christmas season, with many people who confused her move. Finally, she obtains the medicine and some pennies to by her grandson some gifts for Christmas (Welty, 27).

“The Lottery”

The 27th June of every year is the fateful day, where the meaning of tradition in the village of 300 hundred people, takes shape. It is an annual festival for the Lottery that happens in this village ever since it was established. The villagers are close, friendly and know one another well (Jackson, 5). Men are the main players in this game, as the head of families. They draw tickets for their families and whoever is lucky to get the winning ticket gets a chance for his family to pick a ticket. The festival, end-up as a tragedy for Hutchinson’s family. After Mr. Hutchinson picked the winning ticket, he obtains an opportunity for his family to continue picking the tickets (Jackson, 8). This meant that among his family, one had to be the sacrifice of the day. However, as fate has it, Mrs. Hutchinson picks the wrong ticket, the ticket with a black dot (Jackson, 17). The meaning; she is not fit to live in the village any longer; she is the next in line to suffer the consequence of a tradition observed for many years. Mrs. Hutchinson is the candidate to face the wrath of the stones. Death through stoning is the only way out to get rid of her (Jackson, 24). Even though she claimed it was not fair, the villagers could not wait any longer. They had started the festivals a bit late. It was time to hurry, finish the business and get back home (Jackson, 30). Stoning Mrs. Hutchinson brought the business of the day to an end.

Works Cited
Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 2008. Print.
Welty, Eudora. A Worn Path. Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities, 1999. Print.