Foreshadowing in disguise

In “The Lottery,” foreshadowing is a key element. It is used throughout the whole story, both blatant and slightly hidden at times. The foreshadowing begins when Bobby Martin fills his pockets full of stones. This does not seem to be a big deal off hand because the other boys do the same. Many symbols in the story are large components in the foreshadowing. The black box, used to draw the slips of paper from, for example, is worn and hardly black from being used for so long. We know nothing about the relevance of this box until the conclusion of the story when we find out it has been used for the traditional brutal ‘lottery’ the town holds annually. “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one like to upset even as much as tradition as was represented by the black box” (444). The villagers may have known how horrid the lottery really was, but no one was brave enough to break the tradition of what has become a norm in their community. Mrs. Hutchinson’s absence at the beginning of the lottery was one of the biggest foreshadowing clues in the story. After she arrives, Mr. Summers announces cheerfully that he had “thought we were going to have to get on without you” (445). This gives us an idea that Tessie plays a role in an upcoming event. Subsequent to Tessie’s husband, Mr. Hutchinson, drawing ‘the winning’ ticket, Tessie objects and claims Mr. Summer’s did not give him enough time to draw. At this point, we began to realize maybe this ‘lottery’ was not about a rewarding prize. Foreshadowing is not always easy to pick out in a story, but often times it is easily recognized after the story concludes.