The Lottery Analysis

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Writers often use different techniques to express their thoughts in literature. Literary elements such as symbolism or theme help construct literary masterpieces. Such elements are used in various types of writing. In the short story, “The Lottery”, the important elements of literature are foreshadowing, irony, theme, and symbolism. The narrator’s reflection in the beginning of the passage foreshadows the outcome of the lottery. Many details that were seemingly innocuous foreshadowed the outcome of the story. In the second paragraph, the children were playing with stones’ which seemed innocent until the purpose behind this was revealed. The narrator observed that “The villagers still remember to use the stones.”(Jackson 145)The stones allowed everyone in the village to participate freely in stoning the winner, even small children. The children could have experienced serious psychological effects from killing innocent people. This could have also taught the children that murder was okay if it was through tradition. As exemplified in religious text such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; stoning was a classic method for justifying abominations. Tessie’s late arrival to the event instantly sets her apart from the rest of the crowd leaving the reader ponder her fate. Irony is used within the story to make the reader think the outcome is going to be a fortunate one. The sunny day suggested that the event was going to be fun. Rain clouds could have filled the sky followed by a boisterous storm. Lighting and rain could have created a different mindset that would have allowed the reader to foresee the twisted ending. The word “lottery” suggests to the reader that they were going to draw for a prize. The villagers of this town actually enjoyed the lottery. Participants such as Old Man Warner would vote to continue practicing this barbaric ritual. In the story, he says,

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