Which of the following describes a theme of the text? in the lottery by shirley jackson a. even if something is cruel, people have the tendency to follow the crowd and participate. b. sometimes a few people must be sacrificed to ensure the group's survival c. important decisions should not be made by lotteries d. traditions people understand the past

The correct answer is A. Even if something is cruel, people have the tendency to follow the crowd and participate.

Explanation:

One of the main themes of "The Lottery" is tradition, but understood from an uncritical perspective and the impact of blindly conforming to traditions without questioning them. The consequences of following traditions in The Lottery are cruel and fatal, yet the crowd conforms to it because "it has always been done that way".

Jackson criticises that traditions, especially cruel ones, sould not be blindly perpetuated or followed by the crowd.

A). Even if something is cruel, people have the tendency to follow the crowd and participate.

Explanation:

The theme is illustrated as the central idea, message, or meaning of a text that the author intends to convey to the audience.

As per the question, the theme of the text 'Lottery' by Shirley Jackson is to disclose the human brutality or victimization and human folly of blindly following the crowd without giving a thought to it. The author portrays the picture of a person 'who was stoned to death' that mirrors the shallowness and inhumanity. Therefore, the theme describes "even if something is cruel or brutal, people still follow the crowd" and reflect the wicked and vicious nature of humans which leads them to bear failure in recognizing the true concerns of people instead of airily following the crowd. Thus, option A is the correct answer.

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