There are many similarities and differences in the two short stories "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "A Rose for Emily" William Faulkner. The Lottery is a short story about a woman named Tess, who has the will power to speak out against the injustice that is happening to her, but then she is quickly put down due to the fact that she was rebellious and also because she won the lottery. The lottery isn't what it seems to be, usually you would think a lottery is something which has a grand prize like money or an expensive car. But this lottery meant that you will be stoned to death because of an old tradition that runs in the village. A Rose for Emily is a short story about the jealousy hidden by the citizens in reaction to Emily’s pride, reclusiveness, and tradition. It is also about how the main character, Emily faces many hardships and injustices throughout the story. It portrays her downfall due to the fact that she couldn’t live in the present and face reality. The two stories are related by the characters trial against injustice and hardships. Though there are similarities in this story there are also many differences.
One theme that is common between the two short stories would be resistance to change. This was the most reoccurring theme in "A Rose for Emily". Throughout the story, the theme of resistance to change is clearly evident in her staying locked inside her home, not cleaning or changing the bed sheets or pillow covers after her heartbreak, but even before that, this fear of change is evident in her remaining single until she meets Homer Baron. This was also a theme that occurred in "The Lottery" when Mr. Adams says to Old Man Warner that "They do say, that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery." and Old Man Warner says "pack of crazy fools". Old Man Warner says this because he thinks that if the tradition has been carried out since the beginning then it shouldn't be stopped, meaning that once something has been in...