“The Lottery” and “Hills like White Elephants” Regardless of the type of society people live in controversial topics and cowardly individuals can create conflict. The stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway implement this concept. “The Lottery” is about a small town that holds an annual lottery in which the winner will be killed. “Hills like White Elephants” is the story of a couple’s discussion over the decision they must make of whether or not to terminate their pregnancy. The social controversies and the weak female characters in these stories are similar, although their social structure is very different. The social controversy depicted in “The Lottery” is murder and in “Hills …show more content…

The man does not want to be tied down by the baby and the girl does not want to lose the man. They are free spirited travelers with no friends or family around them. They are not concerned with traditional values or family. They are individuals that are portrayed as self-serving. The stories “The Lottery” and “Hills like White Elephants” are similar with the social controversy that cause conflict and the weak lead female characters. Yet they are different regarding their social surroundings. One set in a traditional town centered on the needs of the community and the other with two self-serving characters concerned with their individual needs. Both leading female characters are weak and unable to speak up for themselves when faced with social controversy.

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Works Cited
Voth, Lori. "Analysis of "The Lottery", a Short Story by Shirley Jackson." Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.
Barnwell, Thomas, and Leah McCraney. An Introduction to Critical Reading. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College, 1997. Print.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants." An Introduction to Critical Reading. By Thomas Barnwell and Leah McCraney. 7th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College, 1997. 198-202. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." An Introduction to Critical Reading. By Thomas Barnwell and Leah McCraney. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College, 1997.