What Are The Similarities Between Good Country People And The Lottery

“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury, “Good Country People” by Flannery O'Connor, and “The

Lottery” by Shirley Jackson all have very strong themes that depict a darker side of human nature. All are very different in plot, but are connected through their endings. They all start with seemingly normal characters who end up doing things that would not have been predicted. In

“The Veldt” it shows children revolting against their parents. “The Lottery” shows a whole community turning against one person. “Good Country People” shows that people are not what they always seem to be. The foreshadowing of danger, the building of suspense throughout the stories, and the surprise plot twists, shows what malicious deeds the human heart and mind are capable of and

In The Veldt, the same thing happens within a dialogue on the second page of the story. There's a sense that the “nursery” is not what it seems to be when the wife from the story asks, “Did you hear that scream?” she asked. “No.” “About a minute ago?” “Sorry, no” (Bradbury 2). Here it show that the wife is already suspicious of something going on. Similarly to “The Lottery”, there's a sense that the story is going to take a turn for the worst. Foreshadowing plays a big part in these stories and how they work together. In all three stories, suspense is built through the language that the author uses and the tension that leads up to the end of the stories. When the bible salesman shows up in Good

Country People, he seems like a completely normal person. But as the story progresses, it feels like he's not what he seems to be when Hulga says, “Put it back on,” she said. She was thinking that she would run away with him and that every night he would take the leg off and every morning put it back on again. “Put it back on,” she said. (O’Conner 9). When he is hesitant to put her leg back on there is an uneasy feeling. Similarly, in The Veldt, the same uneasy