Charles Jordan
Professor Masullo
English Comp II
2 February 2023
Conformity Within the Social Norms
Everyday people make decisions in life based on the accepted social norms.
These social norms are a behavior one is expected to follow and expect others to follow.
This is seen in boys wearing blue and girls wearing pink. People do things because they
believe that society as a whole will approve of their decisions. This concept of being
compliant and obedient to the social standards in the world is highly relevant in both
stories, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K LeGuin and "The
Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. In "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”' obedience to
the social norms is seen from everyone in Omelas, isolating the child in the basement.
In "The Lottery," obedience is seen in following the obsolete picking of the lottery in the
village despite other villages stepping away from it.
One of the prominent examples of obedience towards what's accepted in society
in the story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K Leguin is how
everyone in Omelas knows about the little child in the basement yet doesn't do anything
about him. The child living in the city's basement lived in terrible conditions that no child
should experience. "It is so thin there are no calves to its legs; its belly protrudes; it lives
on a half-bowl of corn meal and grease a day. It is naked. Its buttocks and thighs are a
mass of festered sores, as it sits in its excrement continually" (LeGuin 771). Everyone in
this city treats this child like an animal in a cage, given malnutrition, unclothed, and,
most importantly, not being loved by anybody. However, what's most sad about this
child that lives in the shadow of this near-perfect society is how everyone is aware of his
presence, yet nobody does anything to help this child. "They all know it is there, all the
people of Omelas. Some of them have come to see it others are content merely to know
it is there. They all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and
some do not. Still, they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the
tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars,
the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kind weather of
their skies, depend wholly on this child's abominable misery" (LeGuin 771)q. The
conformity of society plays an immense role in the decision to follow along with the
punishment of the suffering child. They all know that if the child were to be released, the
Utopian society they all love would crumble. Obedience is also essential because when
little kids come of age to learn about the suffering child, they must follow the rules of
leaving the child; that way, everyone else can live happily. Because everyone in Omelas
accepts this reality, the younger kids also learn to accept it to live in the beautiful city.
Although this concept of this society is heartbreaking, the conformity and obedience
from the people there allow them to continue living near-perfect lives due to the little
child suffering.
Conformity and obeying social norms are also seen in "The Lottery" by Shirley
Jackson. Throughout the reading, there are multiple occasions where the townspeople
are seen to have a negative aspect towards the lottery, yet they still follow the old
tradition. The first example where they are seen to show dislike towards the lottery is
when the black box is brought into town, and everyone sees it. "The villagers kept their
distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool, and when Mr. Summers
said, "Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?," there was a hesitation before two
men" (Jackson 694). It can be seen that when the box is brought into view by everyone,
people stand far from it and try to avoid it. Even when the postmaster asks for some
help, there is a pause from everyone. This is because they all know what the black box
represents. It represents death which is to come, and everyone in town wants to avoid
it. Another time that there is an avoidance of the black box is when Mrs. Hutchinson
comes late to the lottery drawing. "Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the
square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the
crowd. "Clean forgot what day it was," she said to Mrs. Delacroix" (Jackson 695). The
readers may think that she genuinely forgot what date it was and then soon
remembered that it was the day of the lottery drawing. However, she chose to ignore
what day it was as a way to avoid the lottery. She wants to avoid the lottery because
she knows how cruel the lottery is and what is going to happen. The audience can
conclude that many people in town and skeptical of this drawing; however, it's still done
every year. "Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she
held her hands out desperately as the villages moved in on her. "It isn't fair," she yelled.
A stone hit her on the side of the head." (Jackson 699). This shows that despite many
people not looking towards the drawing, they still follow through with it each and every
year. The reason why they all follow this tradition is because of their obedience to
society. They may disagree with it, but they still do it because it's tradition and is what is
accepted and routine in their community.
If it weren't for these two stories' compliance with social rules, neither of them
would be the same. In Omelas, everyone lives a beautiful near, perfect life. However, it
comes with the price of depriving a locked-up child of experiencing the beautiful world
they all live in. They all follow the social norms of continuing to live their lives despite
knowing about the suffering child. They all continued to live like this because this was
the accepted lifestyle in Omelas. In the lottery, conformity is seen from the tradition of
the lottery. Many people in the village oppose the lottery, yet it's still done each and
every year without consideration. People in the town are terrified of the box because of
what it represents, yet everyone follows the same old ways when it comes time for the
drawing. The real question presented to the audience is whether or not compliance with
society is a positive or negative thing. However, there needs to be a clear-cut answer to
this question. Compliance may be beneficial, as seen in Omelas. Everyone loves a
beautiful and peaceful life since they keep their child locked up. In comparison, people
in the lottery suffer from compliance because they die from the pointless drawing of the
lottery derived from an ancient practice from their elders. In conclusion, compliance with
social rules and norms is critical in both stories because they shape the characters and
their environment.