A Village Tradition

Shirley Jackson has a way of making the reader believe something good is going to happen. As Jackson progresses within the story, she drops hints within the names of the characters and the tone of the story to foreshadow what’s really going to happen at the end. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the author examines the theme that everything is not always what it appears to be by the use of the setting, the characters, and the plot.
The setting sometimes helps the reader know the tone of the story, what kind of atmosphere it gives off. In the beginning of the story, the day appears to be just another ordinary day to the people in town. The atmosphere that characters set is easy-going. Everyone knows each other and; friendly to one another. As the story progresses the tone changes. Amelia Tibbett comments on the change in tone: “The tone of the story evolves into one of panic the further along we go. As the story moves along, there does become a sense of urgency” (Web). That is because as each family draws their slips they come closer to finding out who has the slip with the black dot. The description of the setting gets the reader to believe that the lottery is something to look forward to, something that somebody wanted to win.
Some of the characters in the story help shape the events that are to come. Their names are a hint or theirs actions had foreshadowed the event. Mr. Graves say, “Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing...

A Village Tradition

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