Foreshadowing The Lottery

In many stories, the author purposely has their book narrated from a certain perspective in order to focus on and emphasize certain aspects of the tale. “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, is an example of how the point of view at which a story is told from holds big importance of how it unfolds. “The Lottery” is recounted from a third person ordinary angle, which helps build the twist ending, creating foreshadowing, and helping the reader recognize the theme of the possibility of evil within the narrative. By narrating the story through the lens of a third person ordinary narrator, Shirley Jackson is able to create a dark and suspenseful tale.

The twist ending in “The Lottery” is made possible because of the point of view the story

is narrated from. Since the short story is told in a third person ordinary perspective, the thoughts of the characters are hidden, which could’ve revealed the lottery’s secret. Only the physical details of the setting and the character’s actions are described: “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny… the flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green” and “Soon the men began to gather. Surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain…” (Jackson 1). This type of narration causes the true meaning of the lottery to stay concealed until the very end of the tale. Ultimately, the point of view the story is told in plays a large role in building the startling twist ending.
Shirley Jackson also uses the point of view of “The Lottery” to give lots of foreshadowing.

Throughout the story, the reader is given some normal and some odd details, like when the children were placing stones in a pile at the square, or when Mrs. Hutchinson complains when her family wins: “‘It wasn’t fair,’ Tessie said” (6). In addition, it is described that the villagers “kept their distance, leaving a space between them and the stool” (1). Since the tale is told in the third person ordinary perspective, it is naturally easier to foreshadow because the narrator describes only what he perceives in the story, which means lots of seemingly useless details are given when really they are actually foreshadows. All the foreshadowing makes the reader feel a bit anxious and unsure about what’s happening as the story progresses. In brief, because of the point of view “The Lottery” is told in, Shirley Jackson is able to implement lots of foreshadowing to create a sense of suspense and darkness in the

story.
Lastly, the fact that the story is told from a third person ordinary perspective helps Shirley Jackson emphasize the theme of the possibility of evil into the reader.

The setting is highlighted and purposely described as happy and positive in the beginning, as the village is “clear and sunny” and “the flowers were blossoming and the grass was richly green” (1). This causes the reader to possibly think something good may happen; after all it is a beautiful day. However when the reader learns in the end about the darkness that exists in the story, the reader is shocked and then remembers that in the beginning, the story had a seemingly pleasant setting and now suddenly the villagers are stoning the ‘winner’, Tessie. The reader connects the dots and realizes the theme: the possibility of evil in seemingly blissful settings. With the third person ordinary point of view, the reader is forced to make conclusions using just the observations of the narrator and not the thoughts of characters, which makes the reader think more deeply and eventually come to the realization of the

theme.
In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, the perspective from which the tale is told plays a critical part in telling the story. Using the third person ordinary view, Shirley Jackson creates a shocking twist ending, hiding the truth of the lottery until the very end by keeping the thoughts of the characters concealed. Furthermore, she is able to foreshadow throughout the story by narrating seemingly unimportant details that eventually make sense in the end. She also helps point out the theme of the possibility of evil to the reader, by making the reader think deeply and then draw conclusions based on just information from the narrator. Shirley Jackson does an excellent job in intelligently utilizing the point of view at which the story is told from to emphasize certain aspects of the story.