In the stories “the Fever tree” and the “lottery” the authors describe very shocking endings. By shocking I mean, a very surprising and horrifying event unimaginable to us to happen in our world. For example how Shirley Jackson includes Davy Hutchinson from “the lottery” with the villagers who scapegoat and stoned his birth mother, Tessie Hutchinson. Or how in “the fever tree” Ruth Rendell portrays Tricia committing a dreadful crime of leaving her husband Ford to be consumed by the wild, even after seeing that he regrets trying to leave her and is trying to make the marriage work.
In the begging of “the fever tree” we are shown the negative qualities of Tricia which angered Ford and started this mess of him going away to Margaret. (Next paragraph?) Through out the events we are shown the thoughts of how Ford is trying to get ride of his annoying wife. But out of no were in the end shockingly Tricia is the one who gets the best of him and leaves him for the animals. Creating an unexpected turn around of the unpleasant events.
Similarly in “the lottery” which by the title would be inferred to be filled with joyful and exiting events. Since a lottery is seen to be a joyful event especially if one wins it, but here everything is in contrast winning it might cost you your life.
“The lottery” begins as any ordinary summer day. But with many questionable events like the collection of stones and other prolonging of the story then when the lottery begins they are nervous, hoping not to win the lottery. This can be very well seen by the expressions on the face of the villagers in the film. Later when the raffle comes to a close a winner is chosen, the winner begins to protest his winning. Contrasting what would logically be thought to happen. Bringing suspense asking why she protested. Then we are answered with her being stoned to death by her friends and family causing a very offensive conclusion.
When reading these stories I came to think: Are these stories reflections to every day life? Can people get so inhuman as to leave their husbands to die or stone their own parent? Over what, blind tradition or being dependent of another person. Then I thought of an answer. In both these stories the horrifying events follow after a great deal of stress was put on the shoulders of the characters, and this was their not thought through method of dealing with it. This reflects one of the challenges we have in every day life, the stress all around us which sometimes causes us to hurt others.