The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and “The Story of the Hour” by Kate Chopin, both have
similarities and differences when it comes to the elements of literature. Particularly, when
the authors use foreshadowing to manipulate the moods of the stories and add irony to
cleverly deceive the reader. Both of these stories possess similarities and differences when
it comes to their components of the story, specifically the authors usage of elements of
mood and the tone of irony.
In Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery,” irony is a major theme. This story is about a town full
of elitist snobs that are stuck on their tradition of a lottery, even though it is a grim ritual
and rather detrimental to the people in the town. The characters are honoring a tradition
that is handed down to them from former generations. The reader is led through the
outwardly normal and charming little village, and is taken on a ride of ironic horror as they
slowly grasp the annual fate of one the villages inhabitants. The title “The Lottery” implies
a contest with a winner of some kind, like a sweepstakes. When in reality the winner is
actually the loser or person that will die by stoning. At the beginning of this story, the main
character, Mrs. Hutchinson, is in favor of the lottery. The atmosphere of the town is casual
yet anxious. Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late because she “clean forgot” what day it is. This
seems quite impossible to any reader that anyone would forget a day like lottery day. Her
procrastination is reasonable but her excuse is lame. Mrs. Hutchinson complains that her
husband, Bill, “didnt have enough time to choose.” And that the results of the drawing
were not fair. In these statements, she is implying that the other villagers had more time to
choose, and in fact given an advantage over theHutchinson family. In reality, time had little
to do with the drawing of the slips of paper.” As soon as they hold the second drawing,
Mrs. Hutchinson is chosen. This is the climax of irony of this story. Mrs. Hutchinson is
chosen for the lottery. She is shocked and astounded, having believed that she couldnt
possibly be chosen for the lottery. She begs or mercy, but the townspeople are strict with
keeping to their traditions and her pleas of mercy fall on deaf ears and she is stoned to
death.
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is another story that is full of irony. The first irony
