Reflection Paper 1 page about Eveline and the other page about the lottery - Essay Example

Reflective Paper: ‘Eveline’ by James Joyce The gave me no clues, but when I ‘met’ Eveline, the limited omniscient narrator, I felt at once that she was lonely and faced with a life-changing decision. She was surrounded by the sights and sounds of her life, and allowed a glimpse of a “rather happy” childhood. Her memories and thought paint a picture of loss, loneliness and a harsh life where she is submerged by the demands of a violent father and a dominating boss at work. I hoped for something better for her with the words “Now she was going to go away like the others, leave her home.

” Everybody can relate to hoping for something better, for change that might improve their life, and are often faced with difficult choices. In weighing up the possible advantages of going far away, gaining status as a married woman, looking at the bad things in her present situation, Eveline seemed to be trying to convince herself to make the changes. “She had consented to go away, to leave her home. Was that wise?” The doubts are always bubbling beneath the surface of the narrative, this is a universal dilemma when life is not ideal and something better seems to be available.

The chance to travel, to have a loving husband might make a young woman happy and excited, or so I thought. Eveline’s dilemma reflects how many of us would feel and there is also a question as to whether she loved Frank. The ideal of a love that could overcome every obstacle is missing; Eveline might well be running from one controlling man to Another. She intuitively understood that, and also the value of what is familiar and secure, which might have influenced her decision. Everybody hopes their choices will lead to change for the better in their life, but sometimes fear of the unknown, and taking stock of what you already have helps to make the decision for you.

This is what I think Eveline did, but I am left with the question – did she make the right choice for the right reasons? Maybe the answer is in these words: “Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.”Reflective Paper: ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson Told from the objective point of view, this story was shocking and horrific, as the tension built, and what at first appeared a positive, pleasant village custom, became something very sinister. I thought the stones were for some childish game, to be played after the lottery finished.

I saw nothing significant in “..eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys.” I believed that somebody was going to win a pot of money and life would go on, with everybody pleased at the winner’s good fortune. But this story had a darker meaning about Fate and the impossibility of escaping it, and peoples’ primitive desire to sacrifice another human being if it means their own survival – the evil side of human nature.

There were clues about this more sinister interpretation in the behavior and tension among the villagers. When Mr. Adams suggested to old Mr. Warner that some places were “talking of giving up the lottery”, and Mr. Warner commented, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”, I understood the ritual, sacrificial meaning. This was an ancient rite of fertility, with the old box, the strict rules and the presence of every person signaling a religious ceremony. Mrs. Hutchinson’s reactions when her husband got “it” reflected that primitive desire to sacrifice somebody other than Bill, to ensure her loved one’s survival.

But the irony of fate intervened, and there was no escape as she herself became the sacrifice. The ending portrays a cruel and inhuman picture as the ritual was played out. “Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.” It implies that the dark side of human nature can be truly evil.