How does Jackson start to foreshadow the ending in paragraphs 2 and 3 of "The Lottery"?

Only with the benefit of hindsight does the second paragraph of Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” suggest the dark, macabre climax yet to come. As readers of Jackson’s story know, the “lottery” of the title, the details of which comprise much of the narrative, is an annual ritual whose origins remain murky. The town’s leading proponent of the tradition, Old Man Warner, references the genesis of the proceedings as being somehow linked to the...

Only with the benefit of hindsight does the second paragraph of Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” suggest the dark, macabre climax yet to come. As readers of Jackson’s story know, the “lottery” of the title, the details of which comprise much of the narrative, is an annual ritual whose origins remain murky. The town’s leading proponent of the tradition, Old Man Warner, references the genesis of the proceedings as being somehow linked to the farming season (“Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon’”). It is clear, however, that whatever the original purpose of the lottery, its importance now lies primarily in its mere existence. The town has held the lottery every year for generations, and no one dares speak out against it now, lest he or she risk the wrath of the citizenry.

If there is a passage in the second paragraph of “The Lottery” that suggests foreboding, it would be the description of one of the assembled children, Bobby Martin, having “already stuffed his pockets full of stones” while other boys similarly set about finding the “smoothest and roundest stones.” We know that the town’s boys are ritualistically collecting rocks, although we still do not understand why.

The discussion of stones in paragraph two only begins to assume greater importance with the subtle but distinctive reference in the third paragraph to the subdued mood with which the adults are responding to each other’s attempts at humor:

 Soon the men began to gather. Surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.

The repeated references to piles of stones in these two paragraphs is clearly intended to convey a sense of their importance. What makes this passage especially significant, however, is the description of the adults’ reaction to jokes that “were quiet” and that elicited smiles rather than laughter. This passage injects into the narrative an element of tension previously absent. It presages the further development of Jackson’s theme by describing a palpable sense of unease among the assembled parents.