Were you surprised by the ending of the story? If not, at what point did you know what was going to happen? How does Jackson start to foreshadow the ending in paragraphs 2 and 3? Conversely, how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordi

There are too many questions here for this short-answer space. I first read this many years ago in high school. I did not see the end coming despite the subtle hints. Shirley Jackson crafts her story in such a way to have this ironic conclusion. I think, however, that this question asks for your opinion rather than mine. Were you surprised by the end of the story?