1.03 What's in a Name?

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Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a literary device authors use to hint at what will come later in the plot. Let's break the word apart:

• fore means ahead, and
• shadow means a glimpse of something without the complete details.

This is an important device for writers to use because it:

• adds dramatic tension,
• creates suspense, and
• provides information that the readers will understand later

Think of it as a way of giving the reader a chance to make a prediction about what will happen later in the story.

Chopin's Use of Foreshadowing

Kate Chopin uses foreshadowing techniques in her story. Read the sentence below.

"But Armand's dark, handsome face had not often been disfigured by frowns since the day he fell in love with her."

Would you know that this sentence hints or suggests that Armand is the one who "belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery"?

Check Answer

Which one?

Choose the sentence below that uses foreshadowing.

a. "My mother, they tell me I am not white. Armand has told me I am not white."

b. "Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand."

c. "It means," he answered lightly, "that the child is not white; it means that you are not white."

d. "Presently her husband entered the room, and without noticing her, went to a table and began to search among some papers which covered it."

Mystery Writing

Writers foreshadow things to come in mystery writing to plant clues for the reader to follow. Authors can foreshadow elements in the story's title, in the characters' names, with flashbacks, in the setting, and in the tone.

Readers may not realize these clues until the end of the story!