By omitting the availability of each character's private thoughts, the reader is introduced to the lottery as it happens. Given that none of the character's dialogue directly points to what the lottery actually is, suspense builds for the reader. From the first sentence, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day” (Jackson 278), and from the title of the story, “The Lottery”, the reader immediately infers that the lottery is a good thing that causes the town to be happy. Although the true meaning of the lottery is not presented directly, Shirley Jackson uses the objective point of view to introduce the reader to important hints to the ending without telegraphing it. For example, in only the second paragraph, the narrator observes, "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones..." (Jackson 278). These stones are used to kill a person by story's end, but the information is delivered so plainly and amidst other less meaningful details that it slips under the reader's
By omitting the availability of each character's private thoughts, the reader is introduced to the lottery as it happens. Given that none of the character's dialogue directly points to what the lottery actually is, suspense builds for the reader. From the first sentence, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day” (Jackson 278), and from the title of the story, “The Lottery”, the reader immediately infers that the lottery is a good thing that causes the town to be happy. Although the true meaning of the lottery is not presented directly, Shirley Jackson uses the objective point of view to introduce the reader to important hints to the ending without telegraphing it. For example, in only the second paragraph, the narrator observes, "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones..." (Jackson 278). These stones are used to kill a person by story's end, but the information is delivered so plainly and amidst other less meaningful details that it slips under the reader's