Overlooked Hints “The Lottery” is a fictional short story that explores a corrupt society in which a lottery is formed to execute a person rather than reward them. Modern-day society would associate a lottery with money, however, Shirley Jackson describes a darker alternative. Jackson utilizes this to her advantage as she uses descriptive diction in the characters’ actions to reveal an ominous tone in her short story, “The Lottery”. This is significant as it allows the audience to understand how Jackson is trying to address her feelings in the story. A participant for the lottery named Mr. Adams received his folded paper and,“He held it firmly by one corner as he turned and went hastily back to his place in the crowd, where he stood a little
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Jackson amplifies the subtle hints she includes as it could lead readers wondering why is Mr. Adams so anxious to get back to his place and why is he avoiding his family, revealing her ominous tone. Further along the story, as one of the members had to select a paper from the black box since Bill Hutchinson received the marked paper, “Nancy and Bill,Jr., opened theirs at the same time, and they both beamed and laughed, turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads.”(33). The words “beamed and laughed” usually connotes to a positive meaning. In this context, Jackson sheds the possibility of the lottery being beneficial to the selected contender as she portrays these words as a sense of relief. Typically, people tend to beam and laugh when they have been excused from a reprimand or are relieved from a possible consequence. These subtle details hints the idea that something negative is approaching, hence the ominous tone. The nervousness emitted from Mr. Adams and the jovial emphasis of the children forecasts a tragedy in the progression of the story. Ominous can be described as giving the impression that something unfavorable or unpleasant is going to happen, and Jackson clearly hints this with
Jackson amplifies the subtle hints she includes as it could lead readers wondering why is Mr. Adams so anxious to get back to his place and why is he avoiding his family, revealing her ominous tone. Further along the story, as one of the members had to select a paper from the black box since Bill Hutchinson received the marked paper, “Nancy and Bill,Jr., opened theirs at the same time, and they both beamed and laughed, turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads.”(33). The words “beamed and laughed” usually connotes to a positive meaning. In this context, Jackson sheds the possibility of the lottery being beneficial to the selected contender as she portrays these words as a sense of relief. Typically, people tend to beam and laugh when they have been excused from a reprimand or are relieved from a possible consequence. These subtle details hints the idea that something negative is approaching, hence the ominous tone. The nervousness emitted from Mr. Adams and the jovial emphasis of the children forecasts a tragedy in the progression of the story. Ominous can be described as giving the impression that something unfavorable or unpleasant is going to happen, and Jackson clearly hints this with