What is the author's purpose for using a black spot on the paper?

to represent the darkness of death

to maintain the tradition of the lottery

to enhance the mystery of the lottery

to represent the horror of disobedience

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What is the author's purpose for using a black spot on the paper?

Read the passage from "The Lottery."

Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal-company office. Bill Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd.

O to represent the darkness of death

to maintain the tradition of the lottery

O to enhance the mystery of the lottery

O to represent the horror of disobedience

O to enhance the mystery of the lottery

Explanation:

The author presents the black spot on the paper as a way to convey a mysterious sensation to the reader. This is because the reader does not understand what this black spot represents, but understands that it is not a good and fun thing. In this way the reader begins to doubt the nature of the lottery and what it refers to. In this case, the author manages to show through the black spot on the paper, the mystery that the lottery carries, thus imposing a suspense in the plot.