"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

“The Lottery” is an odd short story an unusual ending. The fact that the town consists of only 300 people shows that they are a secluded small settlement, making sense of such a ritualistic and strange tradition. Why anyone would ever consider, let alone go along with, such custom is beyond me. And if I ever had to partake in such event, I sure wouldn’t be stoning my mother.




Foreshadowing is the groundwork of the short story, “The Lottery”. The story reveals everything you need to know while reading it besides the most important part, the fatality of the chosen one. In the beginning of the story Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing when she describes the town in preparation for the lottery.

“Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; … and Dickie Delacroix… eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys”.

Jackson does not inform as to why the boys are collecting and hoarding these stones, she merely mentions it. Another example of foreshadowing is depicted with this sentence; “no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box”. Implying that stoning the villagers through a lottery is tradition that the residents do not want to be changed.

Jackson uses foreshadowing to aid in illustrating a lesson, or message. Many factors used in the story represent evil, especially in ways the reader would not consider. She uses the color of the box; black, to show the wickedness in the lottery. Also, the names of the characters reveal evil. For example, Mr. Graves is the postmaster and the man that brings the black box to the village gatherers for the lottery. His name foreshadows the lottery winner’s future.

"Bernice Bob's Her Hair" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

After reading this story, I thought that Fitzgerald could have made the same point with the same characters and the same story line in about one and a half pages. He did, however, manage to do a decent job at showing the readers that girls can be two-faced, backstabbing, careless, individuals. No matter where you turn someone is always judging you. Although no one is perfect (whether it’s physically, mentally, or emotionally), there are still those people that feel it is necessary to find one thing wrong with you and then ridicule you for it.

"Don't I look all right?" asked Bernice, "No; for instance, you never take care of your eyebrows. They're black and lustrous…” responds Marjorie. This excerpt from “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” by F. Scott Fitzgerald signifies the pure narcissistic attitude harbored by Marjorie, Bernice’s cousin. Identity is basically a representation of one’s self. In order to grasp one’s full character you must verbally, mentally, and physically understand them as a person. Fitzgerald, on the other hand, really only presents the negative physical characteristics of Bernice through her cousin Marjorie’s viewpoint.

“If I'd been irretrievably ugly I'd never have forgiven my parents for bringing me into the world.” This statement made by Marjorie is a perfect example of how cruel of a person she is. It also gives the reader a pessimistic view of identity by portraying Bernice as an unattractive woman.

"Because I'm considering it. It's such a sure and easy way of attracting attention." This statement, made by Bernice, illustrates how vulnerable she is to Marjorie and how scornful Marjorie is to Bernice. Marjorie is portrayed as an egotistical being, only caring about herself and the attention she receives from boys, especially Warren. Since Bernice is so “unattractive”, Marjorie is ashamed to be around her so she persuades her into cutting her hair.

At the end of the story, the reader finds out that Bernice, enraged, goes into Marjorie’s bedroom while she is sleeping and cuts off her pigtails. She then runs out the door screaming, "Scalp the selfish thing!” and then throws her pigtails on Warren’s porch in hopes of humiliating her even more. This represents Bernice’s feelings towards Marjorie. She knows she is selfish and wants to get back at her for allowing her to cut her hair.

"A & P." -- What does the narrator reveal about himself indirectly? What sort of transformation does the narrator experience during the story?

The narrator, obviously an adolescent boy, is a cashier at a local grocery store. With the use of the descriptive vocabulary the narrator is able to reveal something significant about his character. He is extremely observant towards other people’s appearance and is able to match their physical appearance to their individual behavior. For instance, when he says; “Walking into the A & P with your straps down, I suppose it's the only kind of face you can have,” which was implying that she felt as though she was attractive and wanted everyone to look at her. Also, he calls her “queen” or “queenie”. He may mean this in two different ways; either the way she holds her head up high and leads the other girls around the store signifies her absolutism, or he sees her as a “queen” or perfect in his own eyes. The descriptive wording shows that he over analyses everything and everyone he sees. The transformation that the narrator experiences is quite obvious. He starts off as a quiet, reserved young boy that goes to work to merely to put in hours to get a pay check at the end of the week. As the story progresses he not only manages to face this girl he so madly adores, but stands up for her and himself by quitting his job.