Literary Imagery In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson

The meaning of the word “Lottery” is a “gambling game or method of raising money, as for some public charitable purpose, in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing is held for certain prizes” (“The Definition of Lottery”). In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, published in 1948, the word “lottery” takes on a whole new meaning. The lottery is a game of chance but not the chance that the winner will be rewarded greatly if you win. It’s the chance of having the townspeople chase and throwing stones at the “winner.” “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. “It isn’t fair,” she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head” (Jackson 144). On top of this short story being an interesting read, it is also depicts many literary terms, the main

In the beginning of the story, the day is described in detail along with how the children began selecting stones. The children selecting stones also portrays foreshadowing because it seems like they are collecting stones to play with choosing the smoothest and roundest. Shirley Jackson talks about how the boys were guarding the stones they had collected from the other boys while the girls were gathered in a group talking (Jackson 139). The description of the box goes into deep detail talking about it being “splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained” (Jackson 140) Imagery is also used when describing how Tessie was moving through the crowd after running late which also uses foreshadowing. This describes in detail more about Tessie’s late arrival and how she almost missed the tradition setting up her fate in the end. The last thing that Jackson shows imagery in is when she describes the type of stone that Mrs. Delacroix selects and how the stone is so large, she has to use both hands to lift it (Jackson