Today I will be looking at The Lottery and Married at First Sight. I am looking at a lack of morality. The lack of a moral compass is common in both The Lottery and Married at first. Morals are defined as the standard behavior and the principles of right and wrong.
So here is my thesis statement- In The Lottery and Married at First Sight we are invited to look at immoral acts throughout these stories and shows. Stoning a person in the 21st century is considered an unjustifiable act and participating in a reality show for money and fame could also be considered as undervaluing human relationships
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The Lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson and was first published in 1948. The short story is described as 'one of the most famous short stories in the history of American literature'. The lottery is the story of a village following a tradition that results in the sacrifice of one citizen each year by stoning. Morals and values are completely thrown away all in the hope of winning something. When you win the lottery you win death by stoning.
In The Lottery Jackson uses symbolism and irony to assert that human morality is very dependent on the expectations of society. The narrative starts just like any other narrative by Setting the scene. At the beginning of the short story she is setting up the layout for the Lottery and she informs us that “The children assembled first, of course,” This gives the audience an insight into the attitudes toward the lottery and how the lottery works. The attitudes that the children display can be seen as eager and excited, It can be seen here when it says “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones,” Even if the villagers want to deny it, they are eager and excited to get the lottery started.
What is even worse about it is that it starts at a young age. This can be seen as morally wrong. In no place in the Western world is stoning someone to death morally right. Society, as reflected in The Lottery, is reinforcing the brutality of the world in their children’s psyche.
The community forgets many aspects that come with the lottery ritual. The violent ceremony has many superstitions which are associated with the lottery to increase crop yield. The community continues to take part in the violent immoral act. Ignorant people like Old Man Warner support the ritual and believe the community would turn into chaos if this was stopped, this shows a lack of morals by people in this community. Old man Warner is excited when he says 'Seventy-seventh year I have been in the lottery,' This is because it has been instilled in them since they were little, they have never known any different.
There are many examples in the story where irony is used to display the unpredictable nature of human behavior. In the beginning, everyone is gathered and showing signs of affection for each other and even some hesitancy, However, later, they become more than supportive of the ritual when Tessie Hutchinson becomes the set target of the violence and “[he] was in the front of the crowd,”. This is an ironic twist and further proves the villagers to be cruel and just another indicator that they lack morals.
Symbolism also plays a big role in how human morality is conveyed. The stones are the biggest symbol throughout the story and we are first introduced to them at the start and they keep reappearing throughout the story, making it a symbol. The stones are unadvanced weapons or tools. Even more so, they are given to children, and the children are eager to gather them as well, symbolizing the human instinct for violence.
Jackson conveys a subtle theme of morality. Her spin on the concept of morality and humanity is a dark one, as she makes conclusions that people will do what is expected of them, so long as it does not cause them any harm. Jackson concludes that people are selfish and that society is cruel. The moral of the story is that even if something has been happening for a long time and has become a ritual doesn't make it morally right.
Married at First Sight is a TV series on the Nine Network produced by Tara McWilliams and John Walsh. Married at First Sight is described as one of Australia's most popular reality TV shows. This show matches 12 Australians to their perfect partner with the use of relationship experts and psychologists. The moral compass is hard to come by when watching Married at First Sight these days. Through the use of relationships and good vs evil, a lack of morality is conveyed.
Contestants are scientifically paired with their perfect partner in the hope of finding love but is this the long-term goal? For some people entering marriage at first sight, they are looking for fame, money, and a social media following. This can be viewed as a lack of morality by people who believe in long-term relationships. In the last episode of season 6, Jessika and Ines do whatever it takes to create fame for themselves. They act immorally to achieve their goal. Using these types of relationships the producers can create drama and bring in the ratings.
TV producers also use Good vs. evil to reach the audience and create a profile for their show. Producers use editing and alcohol to make contestants look like the people they want. This way means that contestants can be made to look like the bad guys even if they may not be. Editing also allows producers to make contestants say what they want them to say. Although they may not say it when the show is filmed editing words together enables them to put words in the contestant's mouth. This can be seen as demanding and morally wrong an Contestants. They are also offered ludicrous amounts of alcohol in the hope they create a scene. Producers have a lack of morals and it's all in the hope of getting ratings for their show.
TV producers have a lack of morality when it comes to duty of care. Claire Veral a contestant in the season two show spoke about how she went on the show with PTSD and Anxiety and the producers were not worried about her mental health at all. Using contestants who are not in a good headspace it increases the possibility of something happening which helps the show's ratings. This is another show of the lack of morality from the producers. Dr Micheal Carr-Gregg said These shows aren’t interested in the human being and their psychology, they are interested in the ratings
Married At First Sight is meant to be a show to find love but instead is often just used to get a quick 5 minutes of fame. Many reality TV shows these days have become like this. Many people are just entering to get a following on social media and get some quick and easy fame. Jessika from Married at First Sight had a serious lack of morality. After entering to go on married at first sight she was pitched as the bad girl. Jesskia has no morals at all and leaves her man Mick to pursue a relationship with Dan. Dr Micheal Carr-Gregg described these shows have the ethics of a cash register. If Married at First Sight did not show a lack of morality, no one would watch. People watch Married at First Sight for the drama and the fights not for the relationships. Showing a lack of morality brings in the viewers.
In both these texts immorality is portrayed using themes and literary techniques. In The Lottery lack of morality is conveyed through symbolism and irony while in Married at First Sight a lack of morality is portrayed using good vs evil and relationships. Cinematic techniques like editing were also used by producers to show a lack of moral compass.
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