In the second and third paragraphs of "The Lottery," there are the beginnings of hints of how the plot will develop as the children and adults assemble near piles of stones.
Shirley Jackson's foreshadowing is so subtle that readers are often greatly stunned by the climax of her short story. Nevertheless, Jackson plans her story with enough hints that the narrative has verisimilitude.
- In the second paragraph, for instance, Jackson writes that the children "tended to gather together quietly...." The use of the verb "tended" indicates that the children's actions have been repeated before. Later, the reader understands that the gathering occurs every year for the lottery.
- Also, in the second paragraph, there is foreshadowing of the stoning that will take place as Bobby Martin fills his pockets with stones, and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix make:
...a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys.
- In the third paragraph, the men gather, standing together, but "their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed." That the men are not relaxed enough to laugh aloud, or that they feel it is inappropriate to laugh, foreshadows a dark event.
- As the women gather and call to their children, many of the children come reluctantly after having been called four or five times. Bobby Martin eludes his mother and runs laughingly back to his pile of rocks. This action suggests that Bobby eagerly anticipates something that connects with his stones, and it is something he enjoys.
Because this foreshadowing, seemingly insignificant, hints of actions to come, the shock of what occurs in the climax is all the more horrifying.
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