The Lottery
Throughout the short story The Lottery, Shirley Jackson foreshadows a gruesome ending to the ambiguous "lottery" that takes place ironically, in a small and quiet town. Verbal irony, and symbolism are also used throughout the story as Jackson exploits the over-importance of titles in today's society.The first use of foreshadowing occurs in the second paragraph. After Jackson describes the summer morning she alludes to the children gathering in the Village Square. However, they are not acting in a way that stereotypical children would. "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example...eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys" (Jackson 715). No reasoning is seen in the boys gathering rocks, especially at a time of a town event as important as this one seems to be. This detail foreshadows that the stones may have an effect on the plot in some way as the story continues.Following paragraphs in the story contain subtle clues as to what is going to unfold. After all of the children have gathered, the men begin to fill the square followed by all of the women. "They stood togeth
Nervousness amongst the rest of the townspeople is also evident due to the children's reluctance to join their parents standing in the square. Nobody is to look at their slip of paper until all of the members of the village had drawn. guess we better get started, get this over with, so we can get back to work. Foreshadowing seems to occur with repeated regularity towards the climax of the story. er, away from the pile of stones in the corner" (Jackson 715). Once the foreshadowing is noticed and the plot has been realized, symbolism can be associated between Tessie's actual human life, and her life in society. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd. The use of foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism throughout the story make the ending to the lottery both surprising, and meaningful. Old Man Warner says, "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody" (Text, 718), thus indicating that the lottery was no joking matter. Her words hint ironically that she is not arriving, but preparing to leave.
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Acceptance Essays
