Lottery - Mood Shifts

"Mood Shifts"

Many authors use mood shifts in their stories to leave a greater impact on the reader and make it easier to understand. The particular state of mind or feelings of a person is one's mood. Various aspects of one's surroundings can alter a mood. A story often creates a specific mood or even causes a number of different moods to arise in a short period of time. Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery" does just that, by forcing different moods to surface in various sections of the story. The peaceful mood at the story's beginning, the anxiety that gradually builds, and the eventual horror at the story's conclusion demonstrate mood shifts in this story.

The mood at the beginning of the story is very happy and pleasant. "The morning of June 27 was clear and sunny, with the fresh worth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blooming profusing, and the grass was richly green"(112). This quote describes a beautiful scenic picture, which gives the reader an implication of peace and calmness. The village seems to be conducting a normal, uneventful day. At ten o'clock the villagers began to gather in the square. Everyone in the town is moving about, having conversations with the other townspeople who gather in the square. "Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes"(112). This describes how nothing is happening and it is just a regular day with ordinary conversations. The reader's mood is one of happiness and calmness. It is not until further through the story the reader begins to detect small details that imply that something out of the ordinary is about to occur in the townspeople's peaceful lives.

The cheerful pleasant mood at the beginning of the story slowly fades, as the tension and suspicion rise. Within the story the reader begins to detect small hints which suggest everything is not as it seems. The anxiety grows as the lottery approaches. "He held it firmly be one corner as he turned and went hastily back to his place in the crowd, where he stood a little apart from his family, not looking down

Neale 2

at his hand"(115). The man's nervous movements imply that some unusual action is going to take place. "By now, all through the crowd there were men holding the small folded papers in their large hands, turning them over and over nervously"(115). This quotation reinforces the suspicion that the lottery has a more important meaning, than assumed at the beginning of the story. The reader is now feeling