The Perils of Indifference

1. Does Society Even Care? 2. While the ending of "The Lottery" may be shocking to readers as the impression the townspeople were perfectly normal was portrayed throughout the story. It shows that society doesn't care who you are, if a ritual is set in stone then the consequences remain intact. The black box lottery stoning event takes place every year according to the story. So the townspeople are used to the fact that an innocent citizen will fall prey to the game and get stoned to death. The results dont phase them, as its just another year of playing "The Lottery". This passage connects to the sacrifices the Mayans made in their culture. The mayan community and faith would sacrifice humans from boys ages 5-8. They did not care who fell victim, as a ritual and belief was in place. The mayans did sacrifices of humans as they believed these would be foundations of temples and other symbolic structures. I got the chance to travel to Mexico and was fortunate enough to view the Mayan ruins of Talum. Right before my eyes I was looking at Mayan temples where actual sacrifices were once occuring. The Mayans also had rituals of sacrificing an innocent boy's heart in order to properly ascend a new king. While the Mayans weren't playing a game. They still connect to the passage as they performed a yearly ritual of sacrificing anyone without being brutally phased, as it was performed on a consistent basis. 3. Elie Wiesel's speech and "The Lottery" connect in a similiar manner. In the speech Wiesel attempts to strike the reader with the message that not taking action and being careless is as harmful as approaching a situation in a negetive or hatred way. Throughout the speech Wiesel produces points that signify this message. These points follow the same curriculum and guidelines the townspeople live by. Ellie makes an interesting reference to America's connection to the Germans. "Why did some of America's largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler's Germany until 1942?". I found this fascinating as it seemed like despite Hitlers actions towards jewish people, American society felt like there economy overshadowed those horrific events and continued business negotiations. By this time Germany had already been involved in the invasion of Poland and was ultimatly trying to reign supreme amongst the globe. So how do you explain the Americans indifference? This connects so closely to the townspeople playing "The Lottery" game. They know that sacrificing an innocent civilian isn't right. You get the idea as everyone involved is so intense and verbally communicative. However, despite past history they continue to fall through and use the black box to see who unwillingly will be stoned to death. Its almost like society just doesnt seem to care about the surroundings there revolved around. Society falls prey to careless decisions that leaves those who stop and think about the topic indifference, simply stunned and confused. Both the speech and the story strike the same message. Society for the past, current, and future ages has seemed to fall into a crisis of indifference.

Perception is Everything

The presentation by Beau Otto on optical illusions is stating that everything we see visually has been altered by previous encounters or expierences. During the video, Otto explains how a poster that is red might appear as blue to a seperate individual. This example shows that objects are unique and percieved differently through our own eyes. We see this on an everyday basis in society. A black male born in Canada during the 20th century is looked upon differently and stereotyped in a more peaceful manner, then a black male born down south during the 1960's. This relates to the theme of the presentation in the way that knowledge and information has been displayed in past occurences that alters our perception of the older black male. Even if the individual had nothing to do with racial disputes, he is percieved differently due to the timeline. Another real life example is advertisements protraying women as beautiful and perfect. However, there images have been mechanically changed so we see them as completly flawless. Women then get the general idea that in order to be elegant and gorgeous. They have to alter there appearance in order to be percieved like the figures we see on advertisements. The theme Otto presents is fascinating as it can be expanded on so many levels. For example, we percieve people who eat at say a fast food franchise such as Mcdonalds to be overweight and lazy. This perception is revolved around the fact that the food is outrageously high in calories. However, not everyone who eats at such restaurant falls under these characteristics. People who are athletic and physically fit might stop by a fast food outlet just to get a quick snack. Our knowledge through movies such as "Super Size Me" that society views obscures our broadbase of information on this topic. Ultimatly, manipulating the way we view customers of fast food by the rest of society. In conclusion, Beau Otto's presentation is more then just a simple engaging mind and color game. It's a topic and guideline that relates to everything we are involved or introduced to. People's perceptions of people, places, or objects of any manner are influenced by the visuals we've seen or the facts heard.