The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th. . .
What best describes the tone of this excerpt from the beginning of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”?
anxious
ominous
optimisti

The witer 's tone is optimistic , which makes the ending even more surprising and tragic. This optimistic tone is illustrated through the underlined words : "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.." This tone will give the story a sinister atmosphere since this setting refers to the fact villagers meet in a square to play the lottery, which sounds quite normal , but then, the result of the lottery consists in killing one villager.