Foreshadowing In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

The morning of June 27th approximately 10 o’clock in the town square where all town events occur. Today’s event is the lottery, which takes place on the same day every year. Even though traditions have changed the outcome stays the same year after year. The lottery may sound innocent and fun however it is not as it seems. Each year the “lucky” lottery winner is stoned to death by the people they love. In the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the villagers’’ morals and ethics are questioned through the use of foreshadowing. Throughout the opening scenes of the story Jackson’s use of foreshadowing is very subtle. The images of young children running around with “. . . stuffed. . . pockets full of stones. . .” (64) on such a beautiful summers

. . [and] hesitation [built up] before. . . [anyone] came forward to [help] hold the black box. . .” (64). The reader begins to slowly realize that something is not right. At this point in the story the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place. Diving deeper into the story the reader learns that once the winner is announced they must “. . . finish quickly. . .” (69) in order to have everyone back home in time to enjoy the rest of their day. Stones ae the bases of the lottery, with “. . .stones in both hands. . .” (69) the whole village including the children stone the winner to death, which happens to be Tessie Hutchinson. All of the foreshadowing represented in this short story expresses all that is wrong with the traditions of the lottery. Growing up generation after generation they do not know that the lottery is a bad choice. Taking Tessie for example, her only protests came after she was revealed to be the winner of the lottery. She did not want to die by the hands of friends and family, but in the instance, she was not picked she would not speak up. Testing the morality and ethics of the villagers’, the tradition has blinded them to the point they do not know it going against morals and