Either way, here they are.
Consider the beginning, which establishes a capitalist world
(presented as a nightmare of sorts: terrible traffic, accident, chaos, is meant
to be in sharp relief to the peace of New Hope (setting). In fact, New Hope itself is character-like – its characteristics really influence
all character behavior.
The girlfriend (original one, not Felice) represents
capitalism at its finest– she gets a big promotion and sacrifices Jason to it
(in terms of self interest). She is, as she says, “looking out for my long-term
goals” … not the greater good of her relationship or greater good of society in
general. She suggests Jason do something “better” than what he does and notes
that it would be terrible to be “sick in a state
hospital” (these things all tell us something about her position and
values). A state hospital caters to the poor, the uninsured – the proletariat
(the “have-nots”).
Consider the significance of song playing as Jason is
driving to New Hope– “Freedom Road/Highway” as he’s driving to New Hope. He has “freedom” before he
gets to New Hope. This is an example of
irony, which we’ll cover soon.
Think about the scene in which the men are building the
platform for the Lottery. They say, “Why not leave it up instead of taking it
down and rebuilding it year after year?” The mayor’s rationale is that it’s
“historical”, so they need to keep doing it that way, simply because it’s
tradition. This attitude suggests that this
small society, small as it is, is supposed to remain the same even in its
flaws. It is socialist in nature The greater good
trumps the individual – this represented by the gruesome lottery.
Consider what Felice says here, to Jason:“New Hope’s a good place. God’s been kind to
us.” She has internalized the town’s ideology (governing set of ideas and values the bourgeoisie
makes up and disseminates to proletariatto the point that she really
believes the town prospers because of the sacrifice, that God himself condones.
Her state of mind reflects the power of ideology to control the individual – if
the individual internalizes society’s rules and will self discipline, then the
bourgeoisie will continue to prosper – individuals will not band together to
revolt against the given ideology. These conditions make up a condition called hegemony, a form of power that sets,
protects, and sustains powerful ideology
and keeps the body of the proletariat believing they’re free even as
they are controlled by bourgeoisie ideology. This “consent” the proletariat
give the bourgeoisie (consent to keep ruling as they do) is called social hegemony.
Consider what we learn about Jason’s father – he tried to
prevent the stoning of his wife – her internalizing of the town’s ideology is
called “character” by the mayor. We see in this instance that the proletariat
can only carry on revolution when numbers are high. He’s largely unsuccessful
because no one else will join him in fighting the Lottery. If the entire town
fought against the few leaders, the Lottery would stop. They have the power,
actually to reset guiding ideology, but they don’t, because the governing
hegemony is so powerful.
Especially important
is Felice’s defense of the Lottery:
“It’s tradition, Jason, it’s not murder. It’s like
sacrificing oneself in war.”
Your world has illiteracy . . . and gang wars . . . systems
are dead.
“I did what I did because I am who I am. I wish it were
different.”
Felice is essentially echoing a major tenet of Marxist
theory: that our environment makes us who we are; we don’t create it and we
usually can’t fight against individually – we internalize the major values,
traditions, and beliefs of a given society.
Consider what Jason says: “It’s not rage, Felice. It’s
shame.” He believes the proletariat is largely motivated by shame for their
actions, not rage.
Beyond denying what happened to her mother, what larger
idea/concept/practice is Felice denying? What is she preserving?
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