Foreshadowing In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

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Jackson begins to give the reader some clues that something bad is going to happen at the end of the story. For example, in paragraph three Jackson describes the interactions between the men as they begin to gather in the square, “They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.” In this quote, Jackson foreshadows the negativity associated with the stones by the distance she places between the stones and the men. Also, the fact that they smile instead of laugh shows that they cannot fully enjoy themselves given the present circumstances. Though Jackson foreshadows the end of the story with the distance she puts between her characters, the stones, the stool, and all other things associated with the lottery, she also pulls her readers into thinking it is an ordinary story by her use of the vivid description of setting and characters. …show more content…

Furthermore, Jackson makes the lottery seem as though it is a typical town event as she compares it to square dances and teen club in paragraph four. Through her character description as well as her interactions between characters, Jackson creates suspense for the reader as they learn the outcome of the lottery in the story. Although it is not initially clear that the story ends with a stoning, Jackson gives the reader clues through

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