The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

“Children will watch anything, and when a broadcaster uses crime and violence and other shoddy devices to monopolize a child’s attention,” (Newton N. Minow). To clarify, this quote represents how easy it is to manipulate children’s minds to do exactly what you want. In The , “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson children are also manipulated by their elders to carry on the tradition of stoning a person at random annually in their village of 300 people. Jackson foreshadows that death is going to occur. Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author gives a vague indication of what is going to happen later in a story.

Jackson creates foreshadowing by the illustration of the black box, the explanation of a child’s pocket, and the dialogue between Tessie and Mrs. Delacroix. To begin, Jackson foreshadows that death is going to occur by the illustration of the black box. In the passage, the black box is getting ready to be used by Mr. Summers. “The black box now resting,” (Jackson,1). This quote literally means that the box is sitting upon the stool. However, the word “black” has a negative connotation. It commonly symbolizes death and sorrow. Also, “box” latently means a sarcophagus.

It is where the dead “rest” after death has struck them, and where they will stay for the rest of the eternity. Jackson creates foreshadowing through the connotation. This quote makes the overall feeling sad and even death like. To summarize, Jackson foreshadows death by the black box being on top of a stool. Moreover, Jackson foreshadows that death is going to occur by the explanation of a child’s pocket. In the short story, Some of the children are gathering stones. “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones,” (Jackson, 1). The literal meaning of “stuffed” is “packed” or “gorged.

On the other hand, the word “stuffed” is also a term given to a dead animal that has been treated, so it would be preserved. And like many animals that are stuffed they die a savage and horrible death. Jackson uses foreshadowing through the diction put forward from the quote. Much like how animals are killed ruthlessly Tessie Hutchinson is also murdered the same way. To clarify, Jackson uses foreshadowing by the fullness of a child’s pocket. Furthermore, Jackson foreshadows that death is going to occur by the dialogue between Tessie and Mrs.

Delacroix. In the text, Tessie has just arrived late to the lottery drawing, and is talking to Mrs. Delacroix. “She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way,” (Jackson, 2). Jackson uses the word “farewell,” which literally means “good bye. “. Also “make her way” means that Tessie is walking away through the crowd. However, there is a deeper meaning of these words. “Farewells” are something you do at a funeral to a dead person that you once knew. It is the last time people get to see the body before the corpse is buried.

Also, “make her way” means that her soul is going to leave her body, and will take a journey where it will have to either “make her way” down to Hell or up to Heaven. Jackson is creating foreshadowing through this quote; in the end of the story Tessie stoned to death, and by the diction of the quote the reader is able to infer what will happen later on in the short story. To conclude, Jackson foreshadows death by the farewell that is given by Tessie. To sum up, Jackson foreshadow the events to come; he illustrates the mysterious dark box, explains the fullness of a young boy’s pocket, and describes the conversation of Tessie and her friend.

Jackson illustrates the color of the box, and how it is positioned; by doing so he foretells that there is going to be tragedy later in the story. Furthermore, by explaining the space left in a boy’s pocket, Jackson, foreshadows that the people in the village will act savagely. Lastly, the discussion that Mrs. Hutchinson had suggests that she will be leaving. The overall picture of the story is that violence is in everyone no matter how young or old. People are naturally violent, and even though people evolved from cavemen they act no differently.