DiscussionPrimo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor, once said: “Monsters exist, but there are far too few of them to be truly dangerous. Ordinary men are even more dangerous. , public servants willing to believe and act without question." When people think of evil people or monsters, we usually think of the main figure of a movement or group. The most villain that people think of is Hitler or Stalin It's easy to blame only the main character, but in doing so we forget the ordinary people who are involved in the horrible acts that are happening. These people did not work alone. .It is ordinary people who have the power to control what will happen. Say no to plagiarism Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay. through the opinions and actions of civilians that evil acts can occur. Hitler had millions of followers and supporters who did not question what he was doing to the Jews. They and many other countries did not realize. that by following blindly without question, they were condemning a group of people to death. Monsters don't have to be completely evil beings. Many people don't realize that all monsters are just ordinary people. In her short story “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson is able to express the chilling horror of blind obedience. Jackson is able to show that any ordinary person is capable of committing horrible acts by thoughtlessly conforming to their surroundings. Although people have the ability to bring about change and do good, Shirley Jackson is able to convey in her story "The Lottery" that normalization of events, fear, tradition and selfishness are the roots of blind obedience and push ordinary people to become monsters. For starters, Shirley Jackson shows that heinous acts can become normal over time. The most sinister aspect of “The Lottery” is the normalization of killing a neighbor. Every resident of the city is not bothered by the lottery. The townspeople plan for the lottery to take place around 10 a.m., so that it will be over in time for them to eat lunch. The townspeople have no problem moving on with their day after killing someone who was a part of their community. It is through standardization that bad things can happen. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group, emphasizes that the murder of Jews was not the first step in the Holocaust. In the 1930s there was a lot of anti-Jewish propaganda in Germany. Jews were often the target of their problems. They complained that Jews were taking jobs away from Germans; which sounds a lot like some Americans' views on immigrants. Through constant blaming of Jews and propaganda against them in the media, the Nazis managed to normalize hatred of Jews. By blindly listening to the media and its prejudices, the people of 1930s Germany became as bad as the Nazis. The residents of “La Loterie” do exactly the same thing. Children play with the stones that will kill a person they know and interact with constantly; they fill their pockets with stones. Children should question whether it is right to kill a person, but they comply with what others around them are doing. Nobody questions the lottery. Townspeople chat and joke before the lottery begins. Theysimply view the lottery as a mundane activity in which they are obliged to participate. The lottery is just another part of their day that they need to learn more about. If someone questioned the lottery, people wouldn't die. Also, once Tessie is chosen to be high and starts freaking out, the townspeople tell her to "be a good sport." These people don't even think about her or her situation. They are blindly stoning this lady without thinking about her family or why they are actually doing it. Killing someone has become so normal in this town that they just want to get it over with quickly. Jackson warns that if heinous acts are normalized, then the true horrors of a situation are hidden, making monsters out of ordinary people through blind obedience. Furthermore, the blind obedience found in "The Lottery" is further intensified by fear and tradition. Fear is one of the best motivators; anyone can control another person through fear. Fear and tradition in “The Lottery” go hand in hand. It is feared that if the lottery sacrifices are stopped, the crops will not prosper; the lottery has worked for townspeople for centuries, so they have no plans to stop the tradition. Every year they repeatedly conform to the same pattern of pulling out the old box and killing someone. It's all they've ever known; lotteries are held in villages in all surrounding areas around the residents. The oldest man in town, Old Man Warner, has won over 70 lotteries. No one in town has ever won the lottery. This has always been the case and the crops are still growing. City dwellers are like drones who carry out orders without thinking or realizing the uselessness of the lottery. They are afraid to talk about the lottery because of what might happen to them. It is only a small town of only 300 inhabitants; no one talks about the lottery because they're afraid of the city's judgment and they're afraid of changing the lottery based on what might happen to their crops. The black box used for the lottery is old and worn. There is always talk of creating a new box, but no one wants to disrupt the tradition represented by the black box. Jackson is able to demonstrate how tradition and fear have a strong hold on people. Tradition allows one to blindly follow a routine, and fear is used as a deterrent to stop any sort of second-guessing of the lottery. Additionally, selfishness is another example of blind obedience. As people, we tend not to question anything until we are personally involved. The townspeople do not care about the families of those sacrificed in the lottery; they only care about themselves. Even Tessie, the woman who gets screwed, jokes during the lottery until she is chosen to be killed. We only care about ourselves and our safety. Tessie even tries to get some of her married children into the lottery drawing for her family to increase her chances of living. She would rather one of her own children die in her place than her. No one questions anything until they are part of it. Many people today do not sympathize with the suffering and discrimination of minority groups because it does not affect them personally. They cannot see the pain of others because it does not affect them. After the Hutchinsons are chosen in the lottery, some of Nancy Hutchinson's school friends hope it's not her. Nancy's friends don't care about Nancy's family. They only think about themselves and what. 2017.