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Making its first appearance in the 1930´s, Southern Gothic became a sub-genre of the popular Gothic Literature, taking the macabre and the grotesque and transplanting it into the American South. It takes issues of race, poverty and religion. Southern Gothic Literature is an attempt to understand society in its deepest and darkest parts. The stories originate in everyday events and emotions and writers trying to answer this question they were telling, in some detail, the story of their life.
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson describes a situation of pointless violence and a noticeable lack of humanity. Although it describes events that are unimaginable in our daily life, they seem ordinary enough at first. At the beginning of the story we appreciate a clear symptom of violence: “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and the roundest stones”. We also contemplate a certain gender distinction between men and woman, in addition to a clear situation of poverty: “The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk”. We find here the “village women”, understood as a closely united group, focused on their own concerns and hostile to strangers. As it happens nowadays in the villages and hometowns, people usually have a very closed mindset.
Another example that show us that women have an inferior role in society is when Mr. Summers says “Don´t you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey? It isn´t fair, it isn´t right, Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her’. This last sentence is key to understanding. The theme of tradition in “The Lottery” explores why practices such as the stoning ritual of the lottery are accepted by the village simply because “there´s always been a lottery”. The Lottery explores numerous universal themes such as the destructive nature of following traditions, reducing people´s ability to think for themselves. We can read “The lottery” as a type of request or reflection: if your only reason for doing something is that you have always done it, Jackson suggests that that should not be a reason.
In contrast, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” is a classic Southern Gothic story. The author, Flannery O´Connor, does not skimp on violence if necessary to illustrate the situation. It starts from a horrific situation that seems to anticipate Tarantino films: a family travels to Florida, has an accident and who comes to their aid is a criminal who has fled the prison, the Misfit. “Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead, – the Misfit continued, and he shouldn´t have done it. He shown everything off balance”. This was the reason why he ends up killing grandma, and after killing her he finishes with: “She would of been a good woman, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life”. Excesses and tear abound, a fatalistic southern world with a biblical background (a religion of Protestant fundamentalism).
It´s a disconcerting story that becomes distressing until the end, predicting a misunderstood ‘divine justice’. The characters also typify Southern Gothic style, in that they are both eccentric and deeply flawed. Conversely, the characters in “The Lottery” are comparatively normal. The story ends with: “The Misfit said: it´s not real pleasure in life”. He is the most peculiar character, his nickname demonstrate how poorly he fits into society and he is an excellent example of grotesque character. The grandmother has also a very important role, which reflects a very consolidated idea in the Southern Gothic characters. Grandma is clearly worried about appearances above all. In this hypothetical accident, he is not worried about his death or the death of his family members, but opinions of strangers about her. This aspect is also reflected in “The Lottery” which is developed in a village where people usually know each other and where people´s opinion is usually of great concern. All this in an atmosphere of mystery and suspense.
Another important feature that we see reflected in both is irony, although it is more noticeable in “The Lottery”. Everything happens on an idyllic day, with great weather. When the people begin to gather on the square, the men are speaking of planting. In “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, a darker irony surfaces after the accident when they say something kind of “but nobody has died”. The grandmother, herself, is another example of irony. Ironically, she dresses in such a way that in case of an accident, she gave a good image. We go back to the idea we mentioned a few paragraphs back. In addition, titles are also ironic.
As a conclusion, we can state that “The Lottery” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” belong to the Southern Gothic Genre. While is true that, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” conforms much more closely to the characteristics.
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