What are the three parts of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"?

In Freitag's triangle, a sort of diagram that describes a typical sort of plot structure, we begin with exposition: the revelation of background information that we need to understand the characters and/or events. Next, there is the rising action: the events that develop the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist. Next comes the climax, the moment of the most tension in the plot or a turning point. The climax is followed by the falling action and denouement or resolution: the events that resolve the conflict and tie up loose ends.

I would identify the conflict of this story as character vs. society, with Tessie Hutchinson as the protagonist. Therefore, the first part of the story—the exposition—goes on for quite some time; we learn about the history of the lottery, the original paraphernalia used to conduct it, and so on. The rising action begins when "Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square [. . .]" in the eighth paragraph, and it continues through the first drawing and Tessie's objections. The climax occurs after Tessie draws the marked paper, when she refuses to show her paper and her husband must force it from her hand. This is the moment of the most tension. The falling action is made up of Tessie's stoning and is resolved with her final cry, "It isn't fair, it isn't right." Society wins.

What are the three parts of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"?

"The Lottery" is a highly symbolic short story, written in omniscient third person point of view, about the impact of systemic, needless violence. Originally published in the late 1940's, the story has as much of an impact today as it did upon first publication.

The three structural parts of the story are as follows:

1. Introduction/Rising Action: The reading of the names. During the opening moments of the story, we are introduced to a bevy of townsfolk all gathering for a yearly ritual, the consequences of which we as readers do not yet understand. We are introduced to the town, and we settle in to let the ritual begin.

2. Climax: The Hutchinson Family is singled out. Tessie and her family have their names put back into the box to be redrawn. We know now that something untoward will happen to this family, but it isn't until Tessie's name is finally called that we know what's going on: she won't survive this ritual.

3. Denouement: Tessie pleads with the townsfolk, "It isn't fair", etc. We know that she will be stoned to death, thus answering the major dramatic question of the story which is, in essence, "What's going on in this town?"

What clues suggest "The Lottery" is a yearly ritual?

The story starts out identifying the date upon which the event is held, June 27. The opening paragraph explains that preparation for the event needs to start earlier in larger villages, and that the event itself even takes longer. "In some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th." In the village in which the story is set, however, the entire ritual takes only a few hours.

This event has gone on long enough for parts of the ritual to be forgotten or shortened and for equipment used to need replacement or repair. "Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations."

Probably the most important clue is provided by Mrs. Hutchinson's comment to Mrs. Delacroix. Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late to the gathering of the townspeople. As she joins the crowd, she says to Mrs. Delacroix,

Clean forgot what day it was...Thought my old man was out back stacking wood...and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running.

This makes it obvious that some important event happens on the twenty-seventh of June every year.