The Lottery
The villagers stone Tessie Hutchinson simply because "it's always been done this way," showing the danger of following this blindly.
Tradition
David Foster Wallace opens his speech with the story of two young fish unaware of the ocean, using this device to illustrate our subconscious self-centeredness.
Metaphor
The act of matching one's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors to fit in with group norms or societal expectations.
Conformity
In the short film Alike, color serves as a visual symbol: bright pastel hues represent creativity and joy, while this color represents soul-crushing conformity
Gray
The speaker in "Invictus" is battling against this major conflict:
hint: framed as _______ vs ________
Fate vs. Free Will
Before drawing from the black box, the children in the village begin the morning ritual by gathering these objects into a large pile.
Stones
The central theme of the address urges listeners to break free from their hardwired "default setting," which is characterized by this innate human perspective.
Being self-centered/self-serving
The psychological ability to bounce back, adapt, and recover quickly after experiencing severe hardship, pain, or trauma.
Resilience
The central conflict in alike is conformity vs. _________
Creativity
The opening lines describe deep suffering as a "night that covers me, black as the pit," which uses this literary device to paint a picture of despair.
Metaphor
This character arrives late to the annual gathering, joking that she forgot what day it was because she was doing dishes.
Tessie Hutchinson
The fact that the citizen is only identified by the code "JS/07/M/378" instead of a real name symbolizes a total loss of this personal quality.
Identity/individuality
The psychological phenomenon where people look to the actions and choices of others to determine how to act in an ambiguous or unfamiliar situation.
Social Proof
The term for a mental shortcut you create to help you think less in a complex environment
Heuristics
When the poet talks about being held in the "fell clutch" and "bludgeonings" of life, he uses personification to give human actions to this abstract concept.
Chance/circumstance/fate
The story takes place on a warm, sunny summer day with blooming flowers, making the violent ending an example of this literary device.
Situation Irony
David Foster Wallace’s term for the automatic, unconscious, self-centered mindset through which humans naturally experience everyday life.
The Default Setting
The psychological tendency for group members to adopt more extreme viewpoints and decisions after discussing a topic together than any single member held initially.
Group Polarization
The overarching theme of Henley's poem "Invictus" is the power of the human spirit to achieve this quality despite suffering and physical adversity.
Splintered, faded, and stained, this physical object used during the ceremony symbolizes the decaying, outdated nature of the ritual itself.
The Black Box
In Foster Wallace's speech, the "water" element of the fish metaphor is used to represent this aspect of daily life.
Unconscious thinking
The ancient philosophy of enduring pain or adversity calmly without complaining or showing emotion, focusing only on what is within one's control.
Stoicism
In psychology, this famous term describes a situation where the presence of a large crowd makes an individual less likely to step in and offer help during an emergency.
The Bystander Effect
In the famous final lines, Henley uses a nautical metaphor, calling himself the "master of my fate" and the "captain" of this.
My soul/his soul