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The Lottery

 I remember reading The Lottery by Shirley Jackson in high school.  It’s used as an example of foreshadowing in many English and Creative Writing classes.

It starts out with a simple lottery.  Everyone wants to win the lottery.  The rules are explained.  The lots are drawn.  And then there’s a twist that every reader finds out in the end what The Lottery is really about.  She does a lot of foreshadowing.  The foreshadowing changes the mood of the story.  It’s jovial kind of story about a lottery.  People are joking around.  And that is what makes the story creepy.  Because once you know what the lottery is about, the thought of people laughing over something so sinister is horrifying.


The Lottery was originally published in 1948.  The audio program I listened to was narrated by Carol Jordan Stewart.

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