The lottery by shirley jackson
The lottery by shirley jackson"The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson, is a short story written "to shock the story's readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives." Upon first reading "The Lottery," it seems to flow smoothly to a surprise ending. But with closer review, the story consists of many objects that hint at what will happen. Throughout the entire story, there is a feeling that something terrible will happen due to the authors in depth use of foreshadowing. "The Lottery" contains many symbols and allusions that foreshadow what the town will eventually do to Mrs. Hutchinson.
After Jackson describes the summer morning, she alludes to the children gathering in the Village Square, but they are acting quite strange. The boys stuff their pockets with stones and make a pile of stones at one corner of the square. The first question we must ask is why are the boys piling stones up in the village square? At the very least, we can see that the stones will reappear at the end of the story.
Another major aspect of the story is how Jackson used people's names to make a point. First of all, Mr. Summers is the one running the lottery. Summer is just around the corner and the lottery must be held for it to be a good one. The man who also helps with the lottery is named Mr. Graves. That gives us a hint that death is involved. Old Man Warner "warns" the town against change. Finally, when Tessie enters the crowd she sends a farewell to Mrs. Delacroix. The word "farewell" and "Delacroix" should be noticed. The word "farewell" is used as foreshadowing to the climax...
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