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Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Lottery

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Foreshadowing In The Lottery They call it the lottery, but this is not just an ordinary lottery. The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, takes place in the 1950’s. The townspeople have a tradition which they call “The Lottery” which is a sacrificial stoning. Within the story Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to foreshadow and emphasize the imminent death of Tessie Hutchinson and the ironic ending of the story. In the beginning of the story Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing to describe the boys picking up a pile of stones and gathering them into a corner while the villagers decide to keep their distance; this then gives the readers more accentuation and tends to focus more on that detail throughout the story. Shirely Jackson mentions …show more content…

Graves and Mr. Summers as instruments to help foreshadow the usual culmination of the lottery ritual. The villagers view Mr. Summers as a decent calm man, constantly jovial (Jackson 41). With them, administering and overseeing the lottery event without any apparently outwardly visible qualms of conscience. Mr Graves, in his role as an assistant to Mr. Summers constantly hovers in the background. The unperceived threat in the names and personalities of both men foreshadows the evil that they both present as normal human beings but doesn’t draw attention towards it. Another symbol that Shirely Jackson used within the story is the black box which is used to hold the slips of paper that determine whether the villagers will live or die in the end. The black box is a symbol of the villagers' ignorance and fear of what could happen. Jackson also surfaces when Tessie Hutchinson opens her lottery slip to the crowd. The slip then contains a black dot (Jackson 120). Just before the announcement of the lottery winner, Jackson subtly adds a subordinate clause in which we notice the blackness of Mr. Summers’ coal trade was transferred to the black spot on Tessie Hutchinson’s lottery slip. Jackson also the lottery event itself as a symbolism towards accuracy of the story. The lottery symbolizes the hypocrisy, weakness, and selfishness in people. The villagers hypocritically fake enthusiasm, pretending to enjoy the lottery whereas in fact they secretly dread and hate it.

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