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How Does Shirley Jackson Use Foreshadowing In The Lottery

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Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery was published in the 1940’s, yet its’ take on blind faith and tradition has relevance today. The short story opens with what the narrator describes as a “sunny and clear” day, June 27th to be exact. The citizens of a small village begin to gather in the village square to partake in a tradition of what is called the “lottery.” Some show excitement for the day’s events, others seemingly go about the motions; one character is stated to nearly have forgotten the day altogether. We first notice signs of hesitation toward the lottery when Mr. Martin and his son, Baxtar hesitate to step forward to help Mr. Summers, the leader of the ceremony, steady the stool the black box holding the lottery remains on. In the moments …show more content…

Within in the second paragraph, the reader can notice foreshadowing when the children are introduced and are said to be collecting rocks. There is no mention in the second paragraph about why, however at the end of the story short, it is clear they were preparing to stone whoever the lottery choose. Mrs. Hutchinson’s late arrival is also foreshadowing: not only does she stand out to the readers, she is separate from the rest of the crowd, including her husband. This will be true for Mrs. Hutchinson until the end of the story. Mr. Hutchinson also states, "Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie." His statement foreshadows the end of the story where Mr. Hutchinson, his family and the village must “get on without” Tessie due to her passing. Further foreshadowing occurs when the box is brought out, the villagers are described as keeping their distance from the stool holding the lottery, suggesting no one is excited or wanting what the lottery box …show more content…

The most predominate example is the box containing the lottery is black. The dark color of the box symbolizes the darkness of the lottery. The black dot on the card drawn by the loser/winner of the lottery also symbolizes death for whoever is chosen. Irony is used when we are introduced to a sunny summer day in a small village, we later learn that the clear and sunny day will lead to the death of one the villagers. The lottery itself is also a prime example of irony. Whoever draws the marked paper does not win. They lose their life and their family receives grief instead of the positivity that you would expect from the word lottery. The name of the man leading the lottery is also ironic, Mr. Summers. Not only is the event being held in summer, Mr. Summers is also conducting what is likely the darkest event of the year for the

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In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing to hint at the stoning that happens in the last parts of the story. Jackson describes to us about children collecting stones in the beginning of the story. For example, when explaining how the people of the village were gathered at the square, she says, ”Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys, soon followed his example.” (Jackson) This quotation shows that something, later in the story, is going to happen with stones but we don’t know what.

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One of the most noticeable techniques use in The Lottery is the use of foreshadowing. The foreshadowing is a key element of the twist as is plays on the reader's perception of the word ‘lottery’. The reader would assume that a lottery would have a posititve outcome, so when the foreshadowing is used it is only noticeable after the second read through. A noticeable moment when foreshadowing is used is when the children put the stones in their pockets. Through the first read through this could only be seen as children having fun although through the second read through, the true, morbid intentions become apparent.

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Additionally, the lottery’s dark symbolism pertains to the irony used frequently in the story. In real, modern time, lotteries are mainly seen as positive, with a possibility of winning a large cash prize if someone is chosen. Jackson plays with this irony by making the chosen person of the lottery in her story as good as dead. Furthermore, the lottery also mixes innocence with the eventual act of a sinister death. After the Hutchinson family is chosen and one individual member must be the sacrifice, the youngest member of the family, Dave, is presented first to pick a piece of paper from the box, “Mr. Graves took the hand of the little boy, who came willingly with him up to the box. "

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In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” foreshadowing is used to greatly enhance the story. I believe that foreshadowing adds mystery and wonder to the experience of the story, making it much more interesting to the reader. Firstly, foreshadowing allows for a lot of added suspense and meaning. If foreshadowing were not present, then a lot of major details like the villagers being anxious or the collecting of rocks would not improve upon the story, thus becoming worthless, since they all lead to create the story's ending.

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“The Lottery” creates a lot of conflict, Tesse, who is the main character is put on the spot after her husband picked the winning sheet. She tries to tell the town why they need to redo the lottery but they don’t listen.

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Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing in “The Lottery” by bringing up the stones. In explanation the text says, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones…” (in the second paragraph. Credit to Shirley Jackson) This is important because if this foreshadowing did not occur, I would not be suspicious.

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Symbolically it uses a meaning in the names of the characters indicating and foreshadowing what is yet to come. “He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him, because he had no children and his wife was a scold.” (Jackson 108) Unlike many other characters in “The Lottery,” there are certainly a lot to find out about Mr. Summers. His name symbolizes the time of the lottery conducted, which is in the Summer time on June 27th. Suppose that Mr. Summers’ name represents the irony of the evil that awaits its place later in the short story, usually, summer is thought to be a joyful and cheerful time.

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The Lottery Essay The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is an interesting story that can be interpreted in many different ways. Not everyone is enthusiastic about the sacrifice. Most members of the village are reluctant to participate in the lottery. Some members of the village want to continue the lottery.

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A tradition or idea that is followed and not questioned by some could potentially be dangerous or illogical. In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery”, the dangers of blindly following a tradition is portrayed. In “The Lottery,” a village gathers around every year on June 27th to hold a lottery. Mr. Summers leads the tradition every year. This lottery is very unusual; the winner will become the loser.

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1) A lottery is usually a celebratory event where a prize is given to a randomly selected winner, but it is not the case in this story. The author withholds information regarding the purpose of the lottery until the very end. Some hints foreshadowing the tragic ending of the story might help us see that this is not a usual setting for a lottery. But those hints are quite subtle so it’s a little difficult to accurately predict the ending. The people of the village who gather for the event don’t seem be at ease.

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All through history, certain traditions and traditions have had the ability to direct human beings, even to the point where the individual loses their own moral standards. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" describes to us an account of this in the short story, in an American town, set in the past around the twentieth century. Things being what they are, this settlement seems, by all accounts, to be extremely customary. It had around three hundred people, most by far of whom were agriculturists. The postmaster, Mr. Graves, was the pioneer of the town, bolstered just by Mr. Summers, who owned the area coal business.

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Additionally, the black box Old Man Warner brings to the square holds more than the “original paraphernalia for the lottery”, which was lost long ago (Jackson, 1948). The box shows importance and unknown powers that gives the reader a hint that its use draws the supposedly winning lottery. Then there was Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson, a woman who was late to the sacred meeting, which set her apart from the other families gathered at the square on time. The fact she was late isolated the character and possibly foreshadowed her secluded fate (Marshall, 2014). The use of foreshadowing builds up an unforthcoming tension throughout the story, leaving the reader searching for relief.

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also it seemed like she was trying to avoid showing up to the lottery .Therefore it is obvious that she doesn’t even want to be there which hints that there is something dark behind the Lottery. Jackson’s use of foreshadowing in “The Lottery” contributed to the story by hinting that there is something much darker and eerier than we expect about this village and its tradition of the

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In the lottery Shirley Jackson used foreshadowing to hint that a person would be stoned. “For example while the children were collecting stones in the street the author says Bobby Martin has already stuffed his pockets with stones”. This shows that the children were preparing for the stoning. Therefour this shows the excitement the children had for the lottery. Jackson 's use of for foreshadowing in the lottery contributed to the story by building suspense.

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She realizes that this is an unpleasurable and outdated tradition and should be forgotten only because she got chosen. However, if her family’s name wasn’t drawn, she would have blindly followed the ritual, thrilled to have escaped a gruesome, sacrificial death. As a reader it is easy to empathize for Tessie since she or others don’t have a voice in their community or are even able to look at the bigger picture and see that the lottery is unnecessary. Not only does the dramatic irony of the lottery allow the reader to understand Tessie’s view, it creates a similar feeling towards Bill Hutchinson. For example, “Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand.

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