Happy Hunger Games

In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, the drawing is actually a very undesirable thing to win.  It ultimately concludes with the stoning of one of the members of the village.  It seems to originally have been a human sacrifice ritual that would bring a healthy harvest that year, but this is no longer the connotation of the ritual.  The lottery is done simply because nobody questions the tradition.  The atmosphere of the lottery seemed very similar to the drawing from The Hunger Games.  The villagers were bound by tradition to act as if they are totally comfortable with this practice, and nobody feels fit to speak out against it.  It is simply something that must be done, like going into work.  The narrator eludes to the fact that they are all hesitant to be there but still feel obligated when she says, "Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes.  They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed," (Jackson, 264).  All the villagers seem to be on edge, but they all only want a distraction, not a protest against the practice.  In the end, one person is selected to pay the ultimate price, and though everyone may feel some sorrow, nobody will attempt to change anything.  As in The Hunger Games, the population is simply subject to a tradition they may not be comfortable with, but are very unwilling to change.