The Perils of Indifference

         #1: The Perils of Indifference is a suggestion at the negative effects of idly standing by and not intervening with all the negative that goes on in the world around us.

        #2: In the story "The Lottery" the brutal ending caught me by surprise, just like the result in "The Long Walk". In "The Long Walk" boys enter a competition. The competition is simply a really long walk. They have to walk a certain speed for as long as possible, dropping below the speed gives you a warning. Earning 3 tickets in under an hour buys you a "ticket out of the race". The assumption is that once you reach you're 3 warnings you are simply done and cannot compete for the final prize of glory and riches. However, it comes to your sudden realization that the "ticket" is being shot to death on the road in the middle of the competition. Both start out so civilized and mellow, and then erupt in a barbaric scene of brutality right before our eyes.

       #3: I think that the story "The Lottery" relates to Elie Wiesel's speech in the fact that people aren't concerned with the wrong of the world, until it directly affects themselves. In other words people are too self indulged. Elie includes in his speech how "indifference can be tempting - more than that, seductive." This is exactly what plagues the people of the village in "The Lottery" and how they just stand by as they committ that cruel, inhumane act of stoning a completely innocent villager just for some superstitious tradition. Unless things directly affect one nobody stands out against what is wrong. Not a single villager stood out against the Lottery and decided to opt out and not participate. No one said it was unfair or cruel or any of that. When Tessie was chosen for the stoning she declared that the Lottery was unfair. People wait until it is too late to stand up and fight for what's right until it is too late, which is what Elie warns of.