Sim Dhillon
Ms. Tomlinson
English 2H
18 September 2017
The Importance of Acceptance
George Orwell once wisely said, “Happiness can only exist in acceptance.” This quote demonstrates that in order for a society to function properly and remain happy, they must be able to accept one another. Acceptance grasps far beyond tolerance as one must choose to support something or someone rather than just dealing with it. One can differentiate between a functioning and nonfunctioning society by examining how they treat one another and from their attitudes, whether they are happy or dismal. Literary works such as the film “My So-Called Enemy” by Lisa Gossels, the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and “The Wife’s Story” by Ursula K. Le Guin can help one analyze how acceptance benefits a society, as well as impacts it negatively. “The Wife’s Story” and “The Lottery” establish how not possessing acceptance isolates people, therefore making a society weak. On the contrary, “My So-Called Enemy” illustrates that despite violence and hostility between two regions, people can be disparate and learn to acknowledge their differences. Acceptance makes a society function as it unites people, does not segregate people, and wards off disorder and turmoil.
To begin with, the girls in “My So-Called Enemy” learn how to accept each other’s differences and apply this modern logic into their futures. From a young age, the girls were taught to discriminate against the other religion as the sides have been engaged in war for years. By not interacting with the other faction, they were never able to comprehend the challenges they both faced. Specifically, Inas recollects, “When I see the Jewish girls as individuals, I love them and all of them are my friends. But when I remember they are Jewish, I have many feelings at the same time because their people killed my father” (Gossels). This shows that even though Inas has faced obstacles in the past with the opposing religion, she is able to mature and understand that not all people from the same faith are alike. Both religions have endured many challenges and have had to overcome them. The girls were raised being taught to antagonize the opposing group. When the group is able to realize that their lives are more similar than different, due to the problems they have faced and lives they lived, they are able to bond with one another. By looking past barriers such as religion and geography, the girls realize it is better to love rather than resent and reject. Society benefits from this new found acceptance as the girls will be able to disperse the idea to their families and friends, and from there the idea will continue to branch off and grow from person to person. Closing a colossal gap between two communities allows for the unification of two groups where no one is rejected, unlike some community members from “The Lottery.”
Furthermore, in the short story “The Lottery,” the villagers must learn how to practice acceptance as when they do not, they knowingly single out an individual. Mrs. Hutchinson is isolated in the village when she is chosen to be the unfortunate lottery winner. If the village was susceptible of accepting new ideas and comprehending that the tradition of the lottery was outdated, their society would benefit immensely. For instance, when talk of other villages surrendering the lottery tradition arises, Old Man Warner criticized, “Nothing but trouble in that. Pack of young fools” (Jackson 31). This exemplifies how the traditional mindset of the village prohibited the happiness of the villagers. The society seen in the village is edgy as the people are not comfortable. In order to feel comfort, one must feel safe, but the villagers were not protected from the lottery. The daily lives and emotions of the villagers are affected as they are in a constant state of worry. By calling out one individual, the village divides them, leaving them vulnerable. The village is also divided into families as no one wishes for their family to be chosen, therefore they aspire for other’s doom. The society of the village would benefit from acceptance as the people would be conjoined with one another and they would be cheerful. Much like how the villagers refused to accept new ideas, many societies today struggle with the concept of new traditions and customs. The village does not demonstrate acceptance leading to the death of a useful member in their community, similar to a character in “The Wife’s Story.”
In addition, the narrator in “The Wife’s Story” turns to violence rather than acceptance which results in the death of an important member of their society. When something is foreign to a person they tend to push it elsewhere resulting in confusion and trouble. This could be numerous things such as ideas or people. Specifically, Le Guin recollects the actions of the pack in the story by stating, “My sister’s teeth were in its throat. I got there and it was dead” (8). Instead of determining whether the human could have been a good inclusion in the society, the pack instantly utilizes violence. The society immediately judged the man and concluded he was unworthy for them, however they did not employ basic logic or reasoning before killing him. Only after does the narrator consider their actions and show some remorse. If the society had paused to consider their actions they could have prevented the death of this man. Society benefits from acceptance as it makes people patient and understanding. When one is accepting they do not become scared by diverse things and therefore they consider what steps can be taken prior to violence.
Orwells’ quote linking acceptance to happiness is still relevant today as one can find many examples of how not accepting an individual, idea, etc. negatively impacts societies. Literary works such as “My So-Called Enemy,” “The Lottery,” and “The Wife’s Story” exemplify how demonstrating acceptance affects society in a positive manner and betters it. Acceptance is important for a society because it strengthens the relationships between people, does not divide groups, and leads to peace and prosperity.