As members of society we are affected by various elements of the world around us in everything we do. The actions, attitudes, and beliefs of those who make up the population are essentially the building blocks of society. The specific roles of men and women have been debated for as long as they have existed for humans. In very early times structure of society was very rigid and there was strong promotion of conformity of all classes. Over time, however, these rigid lines have been blurred due to a questioning of equality among the sexes. The roles have diffused each other and seem to have reached an almost equal standard. Complete equality is a difficult concept for us, as humans, to accept. As women we want to be treated equally, yet when it comes to taking out the garbage we usually ask a man to do it. Similarly, men would like women to be independent of them but if you misplace their screwdriver you become banned from the toolbox. Two short stories by Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery" and "Like Mother Used to Make" act to juxtapose each other when observing the roles of men and women.

The specific roles of men and women are

"First, the tablecloth, pale green, of course. And two fresh green napkins. The orange plates and the precise cup and saucer at each place. The plate of rolls in the center, and the odd salt and pepper shakers, like two green frogs. Two glasses-they came from the five and ten, but they had thin green bands around them-and finally, with great care, the silverware. Gradually, tenderly David was buying himself a complete set of silverware...He had chosen a sedate, pretty pattern one that would be fine with any sort of table setting...The silverware lay in a tarnish-proof box on a high shelf all to itself...finally he stood back, checking everything and admiring the table, shining and clean" ( 128).

The role men and women are expected to fulfill in "The Lottery" show a firm division between the genders. When the card with winning card is drawn the townspeople begin asking questions such as "Who is it? Who's got it? Is it the Dunbars? Is it the Watsons?" ( 135). Simply put, Mr. Dunbar's leg is broken and Mr. Watson is dead, thus making them the most unproductive families in the village. Mr. Dunbar as a man is unable to provide for his family, therefore the villagers expect that he has drawn the card. It is expected that those who do not fulfill their duties as townspeople are expendable.

David the male figure in "Like Mother Used to Make" takes on the role of a woman by societies standards in that he cooks all day waiting for his female friend to return home from being at the office all day. Jackson writes, " David makes a little pot roast for dinner and he slices it in fine thin slices and arranges it on a plate with parsley. His plates were orange, almost the same color as the couch cover, and it was pleasant to him to arrange a salad, with the lettuce on the orange plate, and the thin slices of cucumber." Society during the early 1950's viewed cooking and cleaning as a job of a woman and in this story the duties are reversed. This idea of woman taking on this characterization seems perfectly natural, today, in the millenium, but we must keep the publication date in mind while reading this story. "Like Mother Used to Make" was a short story published in 1949, an era of history during which the man was the financial provider for the family and the women stayed at home to cook dinner and bake cookies. In this way Shirley Jackson has shown the possible differences in the roles of men and women during her time. In this story the woman has the higher power and more authority because she is at work all day and gets to come home to a nice cooked meal. The man is home cooking and making the table all beautiful for her. Not only is she unappreciative for the work David did to make the dinner special, but she took credit for the meal as if she prepared it. "David's obsession with domesticity has led to a bizarre role reversal, a

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Approximate Word count = 1957
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)