People often complain about the docility of the multitude, saying that
most of them do not make any effort to challenge or even question the
age-old traditions. Yet, when there appear certain brave souls who try
to raise questions about the traditions, they end up being ostracized or
at least chastised--sometimes by the same people who complain about the
complacency of the multitude. Ironically, it is usually these brave
souls who bring forth hope for the future of their culture.
In
Shirley Jackson』s short story, 「The Lottery,」 the tradition of selecting
one villager to be stoned to death by the rest has been in existence for
ages. Albeit the purpose of the 「sacrifice」--to ensure a bounteous
harvest--has faded, few have tried to raise any doubts about the
inhumanity of the practice. The only sign of dissidence is mentioned in
passing by Mr. Summers, advocate of the tradition, who criticized some
young men who have abandoned the custom and moved somewhere else to make
their own living. Yet these young men who refuse to compromise with the
status quo and even run away from their homes to find a new life are the
true heroes who may help the society progress and change. For they are
the ones who have spotted the problem with the institutionalized relic
that has dehumanized (or victimized) the whole village, and they are
brave enough to defy it. Their vision and their bravery, though
mentioned only in passing, bring forth a shred of hope for a community
that seems to have frozen in time.
The
story of 「The Lottery」 sheds light on the society in which we find
ourselves. Many people simply can』t bear to see anything or anybody not
in conformity with the conventions of our society. For those
nonconforming souls, ostracism is commonplace, chastisement not rare,
stigmatization is almost as usual as the sun』s rise and fall. However,
it is their divergence that lights up the dark complacency around us and
provokes our society to make changes. They are the real pioneers of the
history.