Title: The Lottery
Author: Shirley Jackson
Year of Publication: 1948
Foreshadowing
I cannot say that I was surprised by the ending of this story. While there were some attempts by the author to divert the attention from the overall nervousness, such as the depiction of the casual conversations among the gathering crowd, the atmosphere was depressing (Jackson, 1948). Jackson uses the images of carefree children playing around and wives gossiping as distractions. However, it was possible to guess the worst starting from the second paragraph when there was a hint towards some repressed negative emotions.
Setting
The story takes place in a small town, where everybody appears to know each other closely. This location makes the process even more surrealistic, as these people are willingly following the traditions that lead to pointless manslaughter. Moreover, in this setting, many other towns nearby the one from the story are mentioned and, apparently, have a similar ritual (Jackson, 1948). Since Mr. Summers notes that those towns that stopped doing the lottery are wrong because of the youth and their idiocy, the author shows her main argument through the setting (Jackson, 1948). The description of the scene made it more apparent that the ending will include an archaic tradition that might be superstitious to the point of being ridiculously unreasonable.
Irony
Beginning with its very title, this story is permeated with irony. The lottery implies that there is a valuable price for winning it. Other examples include the descriptions of the setting and the people in charge of the lottery. For example, Jackson (1948) describes the person organizing the draw that will lead to someone’s death as “a round-faced, jovial man.” In the final scene, Jackson mockingly puts the words of late realization into the victim’s mouth, as Tessie’s last words are “It’s not fair.” This grim irony increases the impact of the story’s horrifying plot.
Reference
Jackson, S. (1948). The lottery. The New Yorker. Web.