Discussion Topic

The surprising and shocking elements of the conclusion of "The Lottery."

Summary:

The conclusion of "The Lottery" is shocking because Tessie Hutchinson is violently stoned to death, a stark contrast to the story's seemingly normal setting. Subtle foreshadowing, such as children gathering stones, hints at the ending. The matter-of-fact narration, describing an ordinary day in a typical town, heightens the surprise when the true nature of the lottery is revealed, making the shocking ending plausible.

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Is the conclusion of "The Lottery" surprising?

The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, is a famous short story that acts as a prime example of the "twist ending," which is very popular in short fiction because it allows a quick conclusion in a small space. Although it was badly received on publication, it has since become regarded as a classic of the genre.

The infamous conclusion of The Lottery, in which the "winner" of the titular lottery is stoned to death as a sacrifice to nature and the harvest, comes as a shock to the reader, since there has been little-to-no information about the purpose of the lottery itself. The characters are not surprised; everyone involved is well aware of the ritual, even the children:

The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the...

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The children had stones already, and someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles. Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately.... (Classicshorts.com)

Clearly, this is routine for the whole village. Indoctrination of the young Davy -- son of the chosen victim, no less -- is simple and marked only by a single sentence.

The reader, however, is meant to be shocked by the sudden turn of events; what has seemed to be a joyous summer festival is in fact a brutal human sacrifice. In the modern day, and in 1948 when the story was published, human sacrifice is an unheard-of crime against humanity; for it to be the yearly habit of a folksy farming community is shocking indeed. There is almost no warning, save Tessie's protestations of fair operation, and those are easily passed over until the twist.

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How does the setting contribute to the surprise ending in "The Lottery"?

Readers may not expect anything bad until the last few paragraphs of "The Lottery." The man who leads it is Mr. Summers, a kindly man who runs the coal plant and leads public events such as square dances. It's a nice day at the end of the school year, and the boys pick up small round stones—there is nothing obviously sinister about this, as little boys often like to play with rocks. The men gathered around engage in small talk about topics like the weather and taxes. It is not until Tessie is selected that she protests the lottery is not fair, and it is not until the last paragraph that the reader gets an idea about why her protests were so strong. The townspeople stone her with very little emotion and then they move on with their lives, probably until the next lottery.  

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The setting of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" really helps to surprise the reader at the end of the story, because everything about the setting stands in sharp contrast to the violence that happens in the final paragraphs.  

The story ends with an entire community gleefully stoning a fellow community member to death.  But the story absolutely does not read with that kind of darkness through most of the story.  

When the story begins, everything is incredibly peaceful and calm.  

The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.

The opening lines make me think of the perfect early summer day.  Seriously, the above lines make me want to go out and play some catch with my kids.  Jackson agrees, because she carries on with those feelings.  The people of the town are gathering in the town square.  The children are off playing together on the outskirts of the adults, and the adults are talking about regular, everyday small talk stuff.  At this point in the story, the reader has no idea what the lottery is about, but we can assume that it is not bad, because of this line:  

The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program. . .

It sounds like the people are gathering for another fun town get together.  That's why the setting helps give readers the surprise ending.  Jackson makes us all believe that something wonderful is going to happen in the town square.  But instead a mob of people callously stones a woman to death. 

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Why is the conclusion of "The Lottery" surprising?

Concerning the surprise ending of Jackson's "The Lottery," the ending is accomplished primarily by the use of an objective, detached point of view.  The people are acting normally in a normal-looking town, and that's all the information the narrator reveals to the reader.  Any other point of view would reveal too much information to maintain the surprise ending.  The lack of any thoughts being revealed, as well as the lack of any authorial intervention or explanation, enables the surprise ending to be effective.

Also, a small point, but I would refer to the stones being piled up, etc., as foreshadowing, rather than hinting.  Hinting implies that the writer is trying to get the reader to guess--in this case, to guess what's really going on.  And that's the last thing the story could afford.  Foreshadowing, in contrast, is not hint giving.  Foreshadowing gives the ending legitimacy once it occurs:  once the true nature of the lottery is revealed, it makes sense because the pile of stones and other details have previously been revealed.

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The conclusion of this story is a surprise because, in my opinion, no one in their right mind would expect it given the setting and what has come before.

Look at how the lottery happens.  Everyone gathers, they're chatting in a friendly way with each other.  It is a beautiful day in a nice little village.  The villagers are about to do a lottery that has been a tradition for ages.  Who would expect that it's going to be something bad?

But then these nice people in a pleasant town start killing one of their neighbors.  I hope that's surprising...

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What elements in "The Lottery" are shocking?

The ending is fairly shocking.  If we go back to the first time having read the story, I am not sure if anyone could legitimately predict that members of the community would pick up stones and pelt one of their members with rocks until they died.  That's fairly shocking.  The tyranny of the community in stark contrast to the pastoral and rural elements of New England help to provide a sense of juxtaposition which makes the ending of the ceremony all the more shocking.  Finally, the zeal and manner in which all members of the community partake in the ceremony is fairly shocking.  Anytime one sees children raising stones against parents, old and young alike, and all members in this harmonious moment of sheer brutality and unabashed cruelty, I would say that is a sight worthy of shock.

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The story achieves its impact by being understated and matter-of-fact. There is a ritualistic murder that takes place every year, but how the people go about it is what is most disturbing. Let me give you a few examples. 

First, the children are involved. They just finished school and are about to enjoy the summer. When the day of the lottery comes, it is as if it is an ordinary day. They will partake in stoning someone and not bat an eye. Then they will go on playing, even though one member of their small community will be killed by stoning. 

Second, as the fathers come to the lottery, they talk about work. There is small talk - no feelings of horror or dread. This is also true of the mothers, who are catching up on the latest gossip. 

In light of this, the very nonchalance of the village adds the biggest impact. 

Here is a quote. In my opinion, it is one of the most disturbing:

The children assembled first, of course. School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play. and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones...

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Why are surprise endings, like in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," so effective?

Authors use surprise endings to have a greater impact on their readers. Shirley Jackson was particularly interested in shocking her audience, which she could not have done had she given away the ending sooner. She made her intent apparent in this quote:

I hoped by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village, to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general humanity in their own lives.

Violence is one of the overriding themes of the story. It is clear by Jackson's statement that she wanted to make a point. Many times a story's theme is used by the author to share a life-truth with the audience. Some themes are common: don't judge situations or people by appearance; love is stronger than hate; etc. 

Another author who wrote in this fashion was Kate Chopin in "The Story of an Hour." It is not until the last line that the true irony of the story is conveyed to the audience, but the end is no less surprising, and is particularly effective. Chopin challenged the accepted roles of women in society in the late 1800s. Even today, one of the most effective aspects of the tale is its surprise ending.

Some authors, however, write to entertain. Leaving the details until the end in adventure stories or horror stories, allows the author to better entertain his or her audience. Examples of this include O'Flaherty's "The Sniper" and the eerie "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner—all hoard the details of the story's final moments until the very last moment, often allowing for little or no falling action in the plot development. 

There is a literary excellence in this kind of story, and authors will take great pains to achieve such unexpected endings. For example, in "A Rose for Emily," Faulkner mixes up the chronology of events—using flashback and foreshadowing—making the story line jump between several different time periods to keep the audience from anticipating the ending. Rereading the story allows the reader to see examples of foreshadowing and flashback, which only further demonstrates the author's artistry.

Jackson's continued references to rocks are examples of foreshadowing, but out of context, they don't appear threatening. The casual behavior of the townspeople also misleads the reader. By the time the members of Tessie's community attack her, the sudden release of violence is unexpected and especially impactful. For Jackson, she is making a point. For other authors, their intent may be to please their audience by offering up an unexpected surprise at the story's end.

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Does the conclusion of "The Lottery" surprise you or are there hints of impending doom?

On reading "The Lottery," the reader might be struck by the story's violent conclusion in which Tessie Hutchinson is stoned to death. However, looking deeper, it is possible to find hints of this ending earlier in the story.

In the second paragraph, for example, when Jackson is describing the children, she talks about how they are gathering stones. Some children also stuff stones into their pockets.

In addition, in the next paragraph, Jackson describes the coming together of each family. This foreshadows the drawing of the lottery itself.

By highlighting these details, Jackson subtly drops hints to the reader that this lottery is no ordinary lottery. The reference to the gathering of the stones, in particular, foreshadows the story's violent ending. The reader, however, must be able to decode these subtle clues in order to predict the conclusion.

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How surprising is the ending of "The Lottery"?

For the first time reader, I think that there is a level of surprise in the brutality and savage nature of the ending.  The fact that the social setting would willingly proceed with the death by stoning of someone is fairly surprising.  Add to this the banal manner in which it is seen and how children start to gather rocks to begin the process of community- sanctioned murder and surprise is a good way to describe the ending of the story.

What might be the most surprising element of the ending is the role of Tessie, herself.  This is something that might take multiple readings to gauge. Tessie is eager and willing to be a part of this savage activity at the start of the narrative.  She apologizes for being late.  She engages in superficial conversation with Mrs. Delacroix.  She is very happy to be a part of the community. The suprise is evident with how quick the transformation from "insider" to "outsider" can actually be.  In a few moments, Tessie is changed from one who "could not be late" to a figure left pleading, "It isn't fair" and "It isn't right."  This change is sudden and intense.  To see it unfold with such swiftness is surprising, as well.

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