Certification Of Brandon example essay topic

In the story "The Certification of Brandon" by Crystal Arbogast and the story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson the reader is offered two contrasting philosophies of life. The two stories show how the actions of the main characters are a reflection of these values. First we will explore Brandon's philosophy of surrendering on life in "The Certification of Brandon". In "The Lottery" it is shown how the main character, Tessie Hutchinson, fought for her survival.

Brandon's philosophy in "The Certification of Brandon" was to give up on life. He chose not to fight for survival because he had seen nothing worthwhile to live for. "There had been no fight for life. Death had been freely embraced".

(Arbogast 1) When growing up, Brandon had no real parental influence in his life. His father was dead and his mother was an alcoholic. "Brandon's mother indulged in the bottle everyday after work in an effort to drown out the loneliness she had felt. These habitual ways had left the boy on his own". (Arbogast 2) Bad things happened to Brandon all throughout his life. He was easily influenced by the wrong kind of people, such as Jaire, who got him into drugs and gave him a handgun.

"Jaire had a way of making Brandon feel important, and in an inane way, cared for". (Arbogast 2) He was arrested for possession of marijuana and when on probation he had gotten into a fight with Jaire and to protect his life, shot Jaire until his gun was empty. "They would never know how the sporadic doses of Ritalin combined with the crack given by Jaire would affect Brandon. And, they would never know of the fear and desperation Brandon had felt that night". (Arbogast 2) He was then tried as an adult and sent to jail on an eight year term where he was beaten and raped by fellow inmates.

No one knew what was happening until one day Brandon took his own life in his cell. Brandon's attorney was the only person who had believed and reached out to him; the only good thing in his life. Tessie Hutchinson's philosophy on life in "The Lottery" was the opposite of Brandon's. She showed happiness by making amusing comments as to why she was late for the lottery.

"Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink, now, would you Joe?" (Jackson 4) She valued her life and did not agree with the traditions of the lottery. She was the type of person to push all badness aside... out of sight, out of mind... and make up excuses for when they arose. "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you.

It wasn't fair!" (Jackson 8) Although the two stories are quite different, they have some compris able factors. Both characters philosophies and values on life affected their actions. Brandon committed suicide because he did not see any good in his life. Tessie, on the other hand, loved her life, and did not want to get harmed by the lottery.

Brandon did not want to continue to hurt and gave up, whereas Tessie kicked and screamed and fought for herself". "It isn't fair, it isn't right", Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were all upon her". (Jackson 8) The main characters in these two stories had very different philosophies on life. One wanted live unscathed and the other wanted to die and end the pain of living. They are two sides of the same coin: attachment and aversion to life.

Bibliography

Arbogast, Crystal. The Certification of Brandon. 2002-2003.
Short Stories: web Shirley. The Lottery. 2002-2003.