Lidia's Lottery Essay

Chance of Death

In Shirley’s Jackson, short story “The Lottery”, the author uses foreshadowing to warn the reader about a tragic outcome that the people of the town will face. Initially, Mrs. Jackson uses foreshadowing that the lottery is not going well when the people of the town stay apart from the amount of rocks. “They [the townspeople] stood together away from the piles of stone in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather that laughed” (Jackson 28). Here the author shows the town citizens are afraid of the mountain of pebbles in the bend. Usually their jokes are happy and loud, but they were anguished for who will win the lottery. The villagers know what is going to happen to the winner of the lottery that is not right. Continuing, here the author tries to give a clue about what is coming next when Mr. Graves carries a box with the lottery ballots. “The postmaster, Mr. Graves followed him, carrying a three-legged stool” (Jackson 29). At this point the reader can guess the mistake that is happening, just hear the name “Mr. Graves” that associate a tombstone. And his job of postmaster, that refer a delivery, such his name and his role, all together the significance is a delivery of death. Finally, Mrs. Shirley Jackson foretells the tragic outcome, when all the tickets are distributed to all the town citizens. “By now, all through the crowd there were men holding the small folded papers in their hands, turning them over and over nervously” (Jackson 33). Here Mrs. Jackson gives  the audience the big and final hint with a tense situation when all the community members were fearful and restless waiting for the result of the lottery. They already know the fatal end of the winner of the lottery. Mrs. Shirley Jackson predicts the tragic outcome by foretelling the awful luck of the winner of the lottery in her short story.