Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself
with the 'tribal' nature of any small community.
Within any small community there are going to be flows of
how things do and don't work, the more secluded the community, the more tight
knit traditions can be. People know what works for them and how devastating
straying from what they know can be. When applied to a small rural community
the main members of the community whose ancestors created that community know
how things are run in that specific settlement and will fight tooth and nail to
preserve the way things are in that settlement. Humans are creatures of habit,
and given the right circumstances will continue with the same habits that have
served them so well in the past. People start to deviate from habit when something
drastic happens and changes the flow of things, or when people are forced by a
higher power (federal government) to change in lieu of negative consequences.
In comparison to a post-apocalyptic world, the remaining humans will join
together in loosely formed tribes and do whatever it takes to survive, for
survival comes first and what comes second is maintaining the level of security
that one has, often times by sticking to what habits have helped them survive
thus far.
Zachary: One thing to always keep in mind, as it relates to this class, is that the quality of your response is equal to the quality of your evidence (i.e. examples or illustrations). I'm curious if you could point to the specific action or incident within a specific small community. It would help solidify what you're saying. That said, I'm interested in your idea about a post-apocalyptic world. I suppose it widens my idea of small communities with a history versus small communities that form out of necessity.
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