Shocking Summers In both Shirley Jackson?s short story ?The Lottery? and Ursula K. Le Guin?s short story ?The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas? the author?s set the stage for their stories in bright summer cities filled with seemingly happy citizens going about their everyday business in a typical fashion. However, their description of these cities and the people who live in them sets the reader up to anticipate a happy story, when in the end the stories reveal these communities shocking darkness that the people have all come to live their lives with. Because the children in both of these stories have grown up experiencing these traditions they have no problem with following them. Most of ...view middle of the document...
Only this is no holiday.The children of this story also symbolize a compliance with tradition. Because of their child faith they go blindly wherever led by the authority. Once this tradition is established with them they do not question it when they are grown up. That is why this horrible tradition of the stoning of one citizen a year to ensure a good crop will continue for years to come. Traditions are established in all families. Peoples religious beliefs that are instilled in their children at a young age are not likely to be forgotten when their child is grown. Even in extreme circumstances the traditions are followed. At the end of ?The Lottery? a young child had to actually help stone his own mother. The story says ?Someone gave little Dave Hutchinson a few pebbles? (868) and because he was taught to follow this tradition he did participate along with his older brother and sisters and the rest of the town.Ursula Le Guin also tries to convince the reader of the city of Omelas? beautiful landscape and happy people. In the first paragraph of ?The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas? the city is described as ?bright towered by the sea? (959). The story begins by describing in detail the green meadow and ?the air of the morning?(960). She also describes the houses and the harbor. This city seems like a perfect place for a family vacation, but the people there would probably like nothing better than...