Foreshadowing and symbolism are a big part of many short stories. Without them many, if not all, stories would not be a story. They provide the excitement and suspense that make a story fun to read. Jackson and O'Connor use great examples in their stories "The Lottery","Good Country People", and "A Good Man is Hard to Find".
             In many stories, settings are constructed to help build the mood and to foreshadow things to come. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader to think of positive outcomes. However, this description of the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. To begin, Shirley Jackson tells the reader what time of day and what time of year the story takes place. She also describes that school has just recently let out for summer break, letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer. Shirley Jackson also seems to stress on the beauty of the day and the brilliance of nature. This provides the positive outlook and lets the reader relax into what seems to be a comfortable setting for the story. In addition, the description of people and their actions are very important. Children play happily, women gossip, and men casually talk about farming. Jackson says "The lottery was conducted - as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program ...."(Jackson). Dances, clubs and parties are most often associated with a good time, not what is about to come in this story. Even the children play a big part in the foreshadowing of what is about to come. The children "made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square" (Jackson). Readers can read through this portion of the story and never realize what events are about to take place.
             The most important contextual symbol in this story is the black box. Black is a symbol for death and death is what is about to occur. In the end Mrs.Hutchinson is ...