The Lottery

The Lottery

Well, you definitely have to read this story more than once to pick up on all of the small

subtleties that Shirley Jackson uses as foreshadowing for the dark and gruesome conclusion. When

one usually thinks of the word “lottery”, their first thoughts usually go to winning a prize.

Something that they would want, that would bring them joy. So when you finally get to the end of

this story, it brings quite the shock. Jackson did an amazing job of foreshadowing in the story and

of building suspense.

Every June 27th at 10:00 A.M. the villagers gather in the town square for the annual “lottery”

When the village children begin to gather Jackson points out how they are collecting stones and

placing them in a pile, then standing in front of them as if they are protecting them. The men

gather, but their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. When she describes the

woman beginning to gather, she notes that they are all wearing faded dresses and older clothes.

Moreover, then this foreshadowing, when the black box is brought into the square everyone

seems to want to keep a distance from both the box and the stool that it rests on. When

Mr.Summers asked for a few men to help hold the box, they all seem to be very reluctant to assist.

When it is finally time for the lottery drawing, Mr.Summers says “guess we better get started, get

this over with, so’s we can go get back to work. Anybody ain’t here?”. This statement foreshadows

that the event, that is about to happen, is not something that will be exciting or joyous.

Soon after this, things seem to become obviously dark. The crowd becomes silent. When it is

Jack Watson’s turn to come draw from the box, someone from the crowd yells “Don’t be nervous,

Jack”. This is a huge clue that something is off.

Jackson finally shows hard evidence that things are not as they seem towards the end of the story....