Was It Really Such a Surprise?

Although Shirley Jackson meant for "The Lottery" to have a surprising or ironic conclusion, many passages in the short story foreshadow such a grave ending. The boys that are gathering rocks must be the most obvious clue. Some are more subtle, however.
Jackson describes the villagers as nervous, quiet, and apprehensive while getting ready to draw names. One would think the villagers would act excited on such a day. Also, the villagers are drawing slips of paper from a black box, which sits upon a three legged stool. The color black is usually associated with death and darkness, and the three legged stool could perhaps be a symbol of the three branches of government, which further implies that the lottery is much like the law...sometimes it doesn't seem fair, but people do what they're told. It's been around for generations, so it must be there for a reason, right? However, the way Tessie argues that it's not fair and walks up to the box defiantly tells readers that whatever the villagers are drawing for is not something they desire.
And who better to be carrying the three legged stool than Mr. Graves? His name alone foreshadows death.
Another clue foreshadows something happening to Tessie at the end of this story. Tessie is chatting with Mrs. Delacroix before going to greet her husband. "She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd" (445). The name Delacroix is French, and translates into "of the cross." Tessie is giving her last farewell before she dies, perhaps as a sacrifice for the rest of the villagers' sins.
There are also some passages in this short story which may foreshadow a future end to the lottery. Many villagers speak of other towns that have ended the lottery, and their own lottery seems less traditional and formal each year. "...at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort...,but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse" (445). The appearance of the box also fades along with the formality of the tradition. "The black box grew shabbier each year; by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained" (444).
The only surprising element of the story is that such a horrid tradition has lasted so long in this village.