Staying firm in your beliefs is a difficult task. It takes a person with a strong and courageous mind to stand up for what they believe in. The possible consequence of this is isolation, humiliation or success in changing one's point of view. Since defending oneself makes a person vulnerable, out of fear many repress their ideas and settle for the beliefs of others. In The Lottery, The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas, and The Namesake, characters struggle with the decision to conform to society or go against social norms to uphold their morals. In The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the people of the village are consumed by a tradition. Every year in June a lottery is organized to determine who will be stoned. The unjustified killing of a human being is widely considered an unjust act. Although the surrounding communities have discontinued the lottery tradition, this company continues the tradition. The idea of ​​not practicing the tradition was raised several times within the community, but “the topic was allowed to fade away” (351). The community was aware that the tradition was unethical, but since it was part of their heritage and believed that it determined the success of the harvest, no one would do anything about the lottery. Once drawn from the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson notices that people are not conducting the lottery fairly and decides to oppose the tradition. It can be deduced that women were not considered equal to the males of the village. Tessie, a woman, had the courage to oppose tradition. Tessie understood that not all traditions are good. A tradition can become so ingrained in an individual that its purpose is forgotten. In the story... middle of the paper... their society is considered heroic. However, in The Namesake, Ashima negotiates her beliefs to conform to American society. Although her actions could be seen as cowardly, given that she knowingly moved to a new country, she has to adapt to the new way of life. As human beings, we are challenged daily with our understanding of the world and what is considered morally right and wrong. It is up to the individual to decide to conform or be rebellious. Works Cited Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz. "The lottery." Literature: the human experience. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2006. 350-56. Print.Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz. "Those who walked away from Omelas." Literature: the human experience. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2006. 357-61. Print.Lahiri, Jhumpa. The namesake. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print.