Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is an interesting short story taking place in a small town during the twentieth century. The town is getting ready to hold their annual lottery. Readers, however, do not know what the lottery entails until the end of the story where the narrator reveals that the “winner” is to be stoned to death in an unusual ritual. The story shows the danger of following traditions without practical reasoning. By evaluating the three criteria: an engaging or suspenseful plot, a well-structured story, and a satisfying conclusion, readers can thoroughly analyze the effectiveness of the author in creating a well-written story with a strong central idea.

They call it the lottery, but this isn’t just any lottery! “The Lottery,” a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a town in the 1950s. The townspeople have a tradition that they call the lottery, which is actually a sacrificial stoning. They have this tradition because they are crazy and they think that it helps the crops grow; without it there would be no food. In “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing to add to the shock factor of the terrible ending. In the beginning of the story, the author uses brief foreshadowing when she describes boys gathering rocks while other people gather in the townsquare for the lottery. The author writes, “Bobby [Martin] and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix...eventually made a great pile of stones

Foreshadowing first occurs when the children gather in the village square and sit quietly before beginning to play: “School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.” (Jackson 420). The children sitting quietly indicates that they might be nervous about what is to come. The children soon begin picking up stones and placing them in their pockets. This foreshadows the stoning of the lottery winner. When the lottery begins, Mr. Summers arrives carrying the black box, and Mr. Graves follows him into the town square. This foreshadows that on this summer day, a death will follow: “Mr. Graves followed him carrying a three-legged stool, and the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it.” (Jackson 420). Mrs. Hutchinson arrived late to the lottery because she forgot the date. This foreshadows her being chosen by the lottery because it singles her out in the story. Mrs. Hutchinson is the only one who arrived late to the village square (Jackson

The shabby black box symbolizes the deterioration of ritual itself. The original of the box loses long time ago, and no one is sure that the black present box actually makes from the original box’s pieces. This proves the ritual also loses and nobody in the village knows the real meaning of the ritual they are practicing every year. The villagers do not care about the box’s appearance; the color fades, and they put the box all in different places. The townspeople seem to take pride in the ritual of the lottery but the box that represents the ritual is not respected. They do not even think of replacing it. There is no good and logical reason for them to keep holding the lottery because the lottery itself has lost the meaning long time ago, and the only thing left is cruelty. In one of the paragraphs, the narrator tells how the townspeople talk about the official of the lottery, “some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching” (257). The lottery really changed with time. The townspeople changed few things because they believe those things are no longer necessary and needed. However, the brutal ritual is the one they should discard but they keep holding it. In another paragraph, the narrator says, “Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generation” (256-257). The story’s third person point of view is successful proving that although lots of the rituals, songs, salute, the black box and wood chips of the lottery have been changed, forgotten or discarded over times, the townspeople still hold the cruel ritual firmly without logical reason. They have no idea what rules they should follow and which should be discarded. This

The story, “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, is about a small town that hosts a Lottery every summer. This year, a woman named Tessie Hutchinson is chosen to be stoned as a sacrifice so everyone can have good harvest. Shirley Jackson uses irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing to create a suspenseful story that will leave the reader with a lingering sense of unease. Throughout the story, foreshadowing is used to create anticipation and hint at sinister actions. For example, Tessie comes late to the gathering giving the excuse of forgetting what day it was. This singles her out and indicates that something will happen to her later on in

The Lottery, published almost seventy years ago, has been a staple of required reading for young students in the United States. I recall being assigned to read this short story in middle school and thinking of it as just another assignment I was required to accomplish. I began reading, picking up on little hints and nuggets of information that didn’t sit right in my stomach before finally being hit with a gut punch at the conclusion of the tale. It was the first time I felt as though I was reading something “adult”. I immediately went back to the beginning and read it again, noticing the pieces of information that had been provided the first time that I had breezed over but were as clear as day the second time around. Foreshadowing is the most integral aspect of this story, which is completely overlooked by most first time readers.

Giving a reader a plot twist or surprising ending gives a text more depth. The more depth a text has, the more likely a reader will reread the story and notice the subtleties in the foreshadowing and purpose. The purpose of the introduction in The Lottery is to mislead the reader into thinking the story is about a good day in the summer. The author makes the day seem like a happy, bright place, with an everyday exciting event bringing people in the village together.

Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, clearly expresses her feelings concerning traditional rituals through her story. It opens the eyes of readers to properly classify and question some of today’s traditions as cruel, and allows room to foretell the outcome of these unusual traditions. “The Lottery” is a short story that records the annual sacrifice ceremony of a fictional small town. It is a detailed narrative of the selection of the person to be sacrificed, a process known to the townspeople as “the lottery”. This selection is extremely rich in symbolism. Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to make readers aware of the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. There are

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson introduces readers to the character Tessie Hutchinson a housewife in a small New England town is the wife to Bill Hutchinson and the mother of three children Bill Jr, Nancy and Little Dave. Tessie starts out being a rather interesting character she arrives at the town square with her sweater thrown over her shoulder drying her hands on her apron that she was still wearing upon arrival to the town square. Tessie immediately becomes a primary focus in the story because she is the only woman in the village who arrives late to the village lottery. The Lottery, which takes place every year is considered to be a very sacred tradition that takes place among the people of the village. According to Mazzeno (2004), “The lottery has a long history in this and surrounding towns. The people who run it — in this town, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves — work hard to preserve the rituals that have been passed down from year to year

As once said by Professor John P. Kotter," tradition is a very powerful force" (qtd. in AZQuotes). In Shirley Jackson's chilling story "The Lottery", a town celebrates a special custom of stoning people to death every year. Jackson perfectly depicts a possible event that may occur from blindly following tradition without evaluating the purpose or usefulness of it in the first place. Jackson’s use of plot, theme, and symbolism reveal the evil reality of blind faith, tradition, and their consequences.

As said by John P. Kotter," tradition is a very powerful force." In Shirley Jackson's chilling story "The Lottery", a town celebrates a special tradition of stoning people to death happens every year. The short story provides the reader the reality of blind faith, tradition, and their consequences. Jackson perfectly depicts a possible event that may occur from blindly following tradition without evaluating the purpose or usefulness of the tradition in the first place. Her use of plot that creates twists on innocent or normal encounters, symbolism, and theme entail one of the many possibilities that may come from acting upon tradition without evaluation; in doing so, this story can be used to remind us how we should dwell upon real life in the past, present, and near future for the same actions.

Many renowned authors incorporate symbols into their writing to help their audience better understand the theme or message of the story. Shirley Jackson incorporates many symbols into one of her most famous works, The Lottery. The Lottery is a story about the annual ceremony where a random villager is sacrificed in order for prospure of crops and agriculture. Jackson uses symbols in The Lottery to develop and communicate the theme of tradition. A few of the of the most prominent symbols in The Lottery are the black wooden box, the stones, and the character, Tessie Hutchinson.

Many Societies pass down traditions to future generations as a way for them to stay connected to their ancestors; however, when a tradition is harming its people it should abolished them. Shirley Jackson’s short story “The lottery” demonstrated that people should speak out against harmful traditions instead of blindly adhering to them. This is illustrated thought archetypical patterns, the dialogue between characters, and the actions of the villagers. Jackson conveys the message that people need to speak out about injustices in their society before they affect them directly; at which point, it may be too late.

To participate in the lottery may be pretty excited for everyone, but what feelings will overflow people if they know that the winner is "rewarding" with death? All people fear faced a death because of human's non-acquaintance what follows it. Feeling of uncertainty, the fear of the unknown and the fear of changing traditions is the main theme of the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. There are three key symbols that reinforce its main theme: characters names, the lottery, and the black box.

Throughout the duration of this class, I had the opportunity to encounter a great deal of fantastic examples of literature. The stories were as similar as they were different, each one with a unique premise but somehow also reflective of one another. Perhaps it is be accident, or more likely it is because the stories are a part of the fabric of our nation and the American condition. The stories are of their respective times while also being able to fairly and accurately critique American society, culture, and values. From capitalism to America’s changing thoughts on morality throughout the decades, the writings were introspective to the story of our nation.