In “The Lottery,” Jackson wrote about a special small-town tradition. June 27th was warm and sunny and gave the impression that nothing could go wrong. Everyone knows lottery as an exciting thing and everyone wants to win, but this lottery is different from others. This lottery was actually the tradition of stoning an innocent villager; that year it was Tessie Hutchinson. While the horrible ending wasn't expected, throughout the story Jackson gave subtle hints that this was no ordinary lottery. Jackson foreshadowed Tessie Hutchinson's death with the rocks, the black box, and the three-legged stool; demonstrated that unconditional support of tradition can be fatal. Stones played an important role in foreshadowing and symbolism. The reader may overlook the meaning of the stones because they did not seem out of the ordinary at first. The children played and collected rocks before the lottery, but the reader has no idea that the rocks will be used to kill Tessie Hutchinson. Jackson began to foreshadow with a subtle hint: "Bobby Martin had already filled his pockets with stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones" (Jackson). Jackson explained that the children were picking up smooth rocks, not jagged, sharp rocks, which could kill a person more quickly. While collecting smooth rocks may seem like a trivial detail, Jackson was actually foreshadowing the ending. Jackson showed the regularity of the stoning, "...at last he made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and protected it from the incursions of the other boys" (Jackson). The kids treated it like it was a game; the boys felt the need for gua...... middle of paper ......the villagers would never forget the stoning. Throughout the story, Jackson shows, with the use of symbolism and foreshadowing, that blindly following a tradition can have terrible consequences. All objects connect to the ending. Since the villagers have unquestionably accepted the tradition, they have allowed killing to become an integral part of their town. Works Cited Jackson, Shirley. The lottery. New York: People's Library, 1949. Print.Kennedy, XJ and XJ Kennedy. The Bedford Guide for College Writers: With Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005. Print.Nebeker, Helen E. "'The Lottery': Symbolic Tour de Force." American Literature 46.1 (March 1974): 100-107. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Christopher Giroux and Brigham Narins. vol. 87. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Network. April 4. 2014.