Foreshadowing the Lottery

A detailed Summary of Foreshadowing the Lottery

After reading "The Lottery" for the first time, you stop and ask yourself, why didn't I see this ending coming? You really have to read the piece a second time to even begin to notice all of the small subtleties that Jackson uses as clues that lead to the grim conclusion of the story. A lottery usually brings images of some lucky person receiving a great prize. Lotteries are usually associated with a winner having a moment of extreme happiness. So when we find out at the end of the story that the winner is actually unlucky instead of lucky, it comes as quite a shock.

Jackson does give several clues to the outcome of the story though. In the beginning the lottery is described as an annual tradition that takes place on June 27th. The first indication of something being out of the ordinary is when it's mentioned that the lottery takes place in other towns and some of the larger ones have to start one day earlier. A normal lottery doesn't take two days to take place. So you kind of get the feeling that something out the ordinary is going to happen. Another hint to this not being a happy occasion is the line that tells the lottery begins at ten o'clock and only last two hours so the villagers can get back to their ever

The entrance of Mrs. Hutchinson is also very important. "A bit of foreshadowing also occurs when Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late. She makes her way through the crowd and "She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell'." (Yen, Peggy) The choice of the word "farewell" is used to foreshadow the outcome of the story. Mrs. Hutchinson is moving through the crowd to take her place with her family but the word farewell, suggest that she is leaving.

The introduction of the black box is very interesting. The box is placed in the middle of the square and everyone watches carefully. "The villagers keep their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool. There is hesitation when Mr. Summers says, 'Some of you fellows want to give me a hand'? (Jackson, Shirley p.863) The reaction of the villagers at this event raises suspicion. "The color black lends itself to the tone of disillusion in the story." (Yen, Peggy) The black box gives a dark, grim sort of feeling. We tend to associate dark colors with sadness or death. Later in the story the winner is determined by a black spot. Now you get the feeling that there is something negative about winning and that winning may not be a good thing.

The next flag that goes up for the reader is when the children begin to gather in the Village Square. "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones" (Jackson, Shirley p.863) This makes you pause and ask yourself why are the boys stuffing stones in their pockets? Why are t

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Jackson Shirley, Yen Peggy, Village Square, Joe Summer's, Joe Summer, Bobby Martin, Tessie Hutchinson, jackson shirley, outcome story, jackson shirley p863, shirley p863, conclusion story, jackson clues, story paragraph, black box, story winner, yen peggy, behavior acceptable,

Approximate Word count = 1071
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English