Foreshadowing In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Improved Essays
In the Lottery Shirley Jackson used foreshadowing to hint at,some one getting hurt/killed with in the story. All of the kids was picking up stones,”Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones.”(Jackson). This shows that they might be using the stones later in the story.Therefore once the kids was done picking up stones the men was coming in the square, which was in the middle of the town,they was talking about the outdoors. Not much later than the women was walking up.Jackson, used foreshadowing by showing the kids getting stones, and putting them in a pail, this shows that the kids or the towns folks might instead to use the latter in the story.
Another reason/point that she used foreshadowing was, to hint at someone getting

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In most cases, people earn money from a lottery, except for the characters in the short story “The Lottery”. In this tale, the villagers in a small community are participating in their annual lottery. However, it turns out that the winners may win a lot less than they hoped for. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author uses symbolism to foretell what would happen later on in the story.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Only at the end of the story does the reader find out the truth about the lottery. The fact that the community was somewhat hesitant and nervous to participate in the lottery, they went along it, because it was tradition. Jackson shows the reader that blindly following traditions can be dangerous…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Your short story, “The Lottery” should not have been published because the situational irony caused the readers to be shock. As you mention in your short story, it demonstrates “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right, Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.” This means that when Tessie was picked she was shocked and fearful that it was her turn to be stone which made the readers be shocked as trim since they thought it was going to be another character. This illustrates that even if a person responds “I hope it is not me” can end up being pick still and get something positive or negative. This explains that it can rebate today where if anyone official goes to court and everyone votes guilty, the person will be ashamed and depressed and…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery” uses specific word choice to convey an ambiguous tone. In “The Lottery” we are introduced to the Hutchinson kids, Bill and Nancy, they are told to step forward and grab a paper from the old box to see if they would win the lottery . They then wait patiently into told to open it. Jackson illustrates her use of word choices “beamed” and “laughed” in the hutchinson kids action when they open their paper “ Nancy and Bill Jr..,opened theirs at the same time and both beamed and laughed turning around to the crowed and holding their slips of paper above their heads”(33)(lines 96-98). This clarifies when Bill and Nancy opened their paper and found it blank there actions proved that they were glad to not…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Furthermore, throughout most of the story it sounds like the villagers are gathering for a fun event but as the true dynamics of the lottery are revealed the reader begins to feel the tension increase. “The lottery was conducted --as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.” This is viewed as dramatic irony because there is nothing “civic” or civilized about murder. The lottery is seen as a “civic” activity on the same level as the square dances, teen club, and Halloween programs meaning this has become something routine or natural for them. Another example of dramatic irony in the story is the arrival of Mrs. Hutchinson, she arrives late claiming…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Later in the story we realize that this is no usual lottery prize where you win big bucks, but something awfully terrifying that no man in this world would want. The reason the author uses this big event is to inform us, readers, the dangers of sticking to tradition and our past just because it happened back then, he also shows us that change is not bad but can be for the better of us and society. Shirley Jackson uses both foreshadowing and symbolism to convey the readers that rituals and tradition shouldn’t just keep going on just because they have been in the past, and to also make changes in society for the better of the people. Shirley Jackson initially uses foreshadowing in “The Lottery” to hint the readers what the brutal resolution would be, which would reveal the striking dangers of tradition. The earliest and most obvious source of foreshadowing we see in “The Lottery” is in the first page on paragraph two when “The children assembled first, of course...eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Fiction Essay (Rough Draft) Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) was an acclaimed American writer most famous her short story, “The Lottery”. Jackson, born December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California, had spent most of her childhood in the small town of nearby Burlingame, California. Not until the age of seventeen did Jackson move eastward to attend the University of Rochester were she then withdrew a year later. Fast-forward a year later, Jackson enrolled in Syracuse University in 1937 where there she published her first story, “Janice”.…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Jackson never overtly states that the townspeople in her story are nervous about the approaching lottery. Instead she uses subtle hints that slowly create a sense of apprehension in the reader. In the third paragraph of "The Lottery" Jackson describes men as they gather in the town square. The children have already begun stacking stones. The men are talking about everyday matters such as "planting and rain, tractors and taxes," but Jackson writes that the men "stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed" (par. 2).…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson they have a community that had developed a tradition. Throughout life many people have faced traditions; likewise in “The Lottery” most go along with tradition whether they like it or not. In the real world we’re faced with a tradition that if a person murders someone, you should receive a death penalty for the crimes you committed. Many people don’t like change so they will continually follow traditions that they don’t approve of.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Captivating, the only word that comes to my mind when I think about “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. This twisted tale has captured my eye and is a great page turner. This story is about an average village with an uncommon ritual. At one glance a reader might misinterpret the story. To understand the message that the author is trying to send, you must re-read the story multiple times.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Symbolism and Irony, “The Lottery” The Lottery is a classic short story written in 1948 by Shirley Jackson. The story describes a small village that partakes in an annual lottery with a brutal, unexpected twist. Several literary elements are used throughout the short story to revel its symbolic meaning.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Within the lottery lies another layer of symbolism- the black box used to conduct the ritual. Jackson goes into great description of the box and how the people go to great lengths to preserve but also avoid it and even blantly states the symbolism the box has in relation to the ritual, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box,” (290). The multiple layers of symbolism behind this corrupted ceremony all point towards the fear of the townsfolk and the danger behind the…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” we read about a fictional small town which observes other communities both small and larger, throughout a contemporary America. Throughout this story we learn about a ritual which is known as “the lottery.” Throughout this paper I’ll be discussing the climax, main conflict and how this story relates to ‘The Hook’ in a scary and suspenseful way but first starting off with a short summary of the story. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” a classic American short story with a shocking twist ending as well as its insightful interpretation on cultural traditions.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For seventy years, this lottery has been held in the town square. Shirley Jackson uses setting, symbolism, and characterization to help the reader understand her short story, “The Lottery.” On the day of the lottery, the sky was clear and sunny. It is a warm summer day with flowers blossoming everywhere. The folks in the village gather together in the…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the short story, “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson uses imagery and symbolism to show that evil can be present in the most innocent environment, resulting in society being tainted with dark illusion. Superstitious tradition symbolized an important role to the people in this village. Mr. Summers a man that was in charge of the majority of the events in the town, always spoke about making a new black box but never did. (134) The people of the village would rather keep the same box rather than upsetting tradition with something new.…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays