Discussion Primo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist, writer and Holocaust survivor, once said that "Monsters exist, but they are too few to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are ordinary men , officials ready to believe and act without questions." When people think of evil people or monsters, we typically think of the leading figure of a movement or group. The most evil person people think of is Hitler or Stalin. It's easy to blame the main figure alone, but in doing so we fail to remember the ordinary people involved in allowing horrendous acts to occur. These people did not work alone. It is ordinary people who have the power to control what will happen. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIt is through civil opinions and actions that evil acts can occur. Hitler had millions of followers and supporters who did not question what he was doing to the Jews. They and many other countries did not realize that by blindly following without asking questions, they were sentencing a group of people to death. Monsters don't have to be completely evil beings. Many people don't realize that all monsters are just ordinary people. In her short story "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson is able to express the chilling horror of blind obedience. Jackson is able to demonstrate that any ordinary person is capable of horrible acts by conforming without thinking about their surroundings. Although people have the ability to cause change and do good, Shirley Jackson is able to convey in her story "The Lottery" that the normalization of events, fear, tradition and selfishness are the roots of blind obedience and they make ordinary people become monsters. For starters, Shirley Jackson shows that heinous actions can become normalized over time. The most sinister aspect of "The Lottery" is the normalization of killing a neighbor. Every single person in town is not bothered by the lottery. The citizens plan for the lottery to take place around 10am, so that it ends in time for them to have lunch. The people of the town have no problem going on with their day after killing someone who was part of their community. It is through normalization that bad things can happen. The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, points out that the killing of Jews was not the first step towards the Holocaust. In 1930s Germany there was a lot of anti-Jewish propaganda. Jews were often an object on which people could blame their problems. They complained that the Jews were taking jobs away from the Germans; which is very similar to some Americans' views of immigrants. Through constant blaming of Jews and propaganda against them by the media, the Nazis managed to normalize hatred of Jews. By blindly listening to the media and prejudices, people in 1930s Germany became as bad as the Nazis. The citizens of "The Lottery" do exactly the same thing. Children play with rocks that will kill a person they know and interact with constantly; they fill their pockets with stones. Children should question whether it is right to kill a person, but conform to what others around them do. Nobody questions the lottery. The citizens gossip and joke before the lottery begins. They simply think of the lottery as a mundane activity that they are forced to do. The lottery is just another part of their day that they need to delve into. If anyone questioned the lottery, people shouldn't die. Also, oneOnce Tessie is chosen to be stoned and begins to panic, the townspeople tell her to "be good." These people don't even think about her or her situation. They blindly stone this lady without thinking about her family or why they are actually doing it. The act of killing someone has become so normal in this city that they just want it to end quickly. Jackson warns that if it would be heinous, the acts are normalized and then the true horrors of a situation are hidden, turning ordinary people into monsters through blind obedience. Furthermore, the blind obedience found in "The Lottery" is further intensified by fear and tradition. Fear is one of the best motivators; anyone can control another person through fear. Fear and tradition in "The Lottery" go hand in hand. There is a fear that if the lottery sacrifice were stopped, crops would not flourish; lottery has been working for centuries for citizens, so they don't think of breaking the tradition. Every year they conform to the same pattern over and over, taking out the old box and killing someone. That's all they ever knew; lotteries are conducted in the villages of all the surrounding areas around the citizens. The oldest man in town, Old Man Warner, took part in over 70 lotteries. No one in the city has ever taken part in the lottery. It has always happened and the crops always grow. Citizens are like drones who follow orders without thinking or realizing how useless the lottery is. They are afraid to talk openly about the lottery because of what might happen to them. It's just a small town of just 300 people; no one talks about the lottery because they are afraid of the municipality's judgment, and they are afraid of altering the lottery because of what might happen to their crops. The black box used for the lottery is old and worn. There's always talk of making a new box, but no one wants to interfere with the tradition that the black box represents. Jackson is able to demonstrate how strong tradition and the fear it has on people. Tradition makes it easy to blindly follow a routine and fear is used as a deterrent to stop some sort of questioning towards the lottery. Furthermore, selfishness is yet another example of blind obedience. We as people tend not to question anything until we are personally involved. Citizens do not care about the families of people sacrificed in the lottery; they only care about themselves. Tessie, the woman who is stoned, also jokes during the lottery until she is chosen to be killed. We only care about ourselves and our safety. Tessie even tries to get some of her married children into the lottery drawing for her family to increase her chances of living. She would rather one of her children die in her place than her. No one questions anything until separated from it. Nowadays, many people do not sympathize with the suffering and discrimination of minority groups because it does not affect them personally. They can't see the pain of others because it doesn't affect them. Once the Hutchinsons are chosen in the lottery, some of Nancy Hutchinson's classmates hope it's not her. Nancy's friends don't care about Nancy's family. They only think about themselves and what they would do without Nancy. They don't think about Nancy's suffering or how the lottery will affect her and her family. Thomas Du Bose believes that Jackson is suggesting "that people do not care about injustice and kindness unless these issues affect them personally." Citizens know how to obey blindly because the lottery does not concern them or their families. Once they open the. 2017.