Foreshadowing Done The Right Way!

Foreshadowing is a literary technique in which the author teases the reader with what will happen later in the narrative. By the conclusion of this essay, authors will have figured out how to create engrossing page-turners. The “how” connects the beginning to the finish of your narrative or the introduction to the conclusion. Foreshadowing promises to provide readers with the knowledge they want.

Types of Foreshadowing

The possibilities are endless, and there are many foreshadowing routes via which stories may be disclosed.

• Direct foreshadowing is explicitly hinted at or foreshadowed. It provides readers with a snippet of information that piques their interest and makes them want to learn more.
• Indirect foreshadowing happens when a result is hinted at or predicted indirectly. It discreetly alludes to a future occurrence, but readers are usually only aware of it after the result or event has happened.

Straightforward, right? Now let’s see a few examples of the former in action.

Direct Foreshadowing Examples

1) Direct Foreshadowing: The Narrator

In introducing this article, we saw an example of this. In a nutshell, the person narrating the tale. Take, for example, the first line of Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall:

“They say that just before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that’s not how it happened for me.”

What we know: The narrator is dead. What we want to know: How did they die?

The key to making such forecasts is to utilize information relevant to the narrative. Consider it the narrator’s personal invitation.

2) Direct Foreshadowing: The Pre-Scene

The ‘pre-scene is a skill acquired by those who have the uncanny ability to predict the conclusion of stories. These sequences represent something significant – they are usually a condensed, toned-down version of the main case. Carlson is persuaded in the first part of Of Mice and Men that an elderly dog should be put down so that it may die quickly and cease its misery.

“I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog.”

What we know is important: the death of the dog. What we want to know: Why is that important, and when will we find out?

After the book, when a violent lynch mob is searching for Lennie, George paints a tranquil image of the farm they will one day possess. Then George murders Lennie.

3) Direct Foreshadowing: The Name Drop

You wouldn’t give a hoot if someone told you, “I’m going home to see my buddy tomorrow.” But if someone told you, “I’m going to the Playboy Mansion tomorrow,” you’d want to know more. Similarly, you remind the reader that this person is important by casually dropping a place, object, or person into your narrative. See this case for the first installment of The Hunger Games:

“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.”

What we know: Something called the reaping is about to happen, and it’s nightmare-inducing. What we want to know: Well, what is the reaping?

4) Direct Foreshadowing: The Prophecy

In the opening sequence of A Touch of Evil, we witness the timer begin with a bomber placed in the trunk of a vehicle. Some of you get into the vehicle and drive away seconds later. Welles used theatrical irony to create a completely tense and suspenseful scene. The explosion would have been a spectacular way to begin. Notifying readers about a particular disastrous event may seem paradoxical at first: isn’t it simpler to surprise the reader?

Macbeth famously opens with the prophecies of the three witches: “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter! […] Lesser than Macbeth and greater. Not so happy, yet much happier. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none: So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!”

What we know: Macbeth will be king, and the ancestors of Banquo will be king. What we want to hear: is this going to happen? And how, if so?

This prophecy complements the remainder of the tale, which depicts Macbeth being power-crazed and doing terrible actions to avoid being deposed.

5) Direct Foreshadowing: The Prologue

The nearly audible “dun dun DUNNN!” is nothing new like a lawyer. The prologs are employed for various reasons, including reversing or forwarding the narrative, providing a perspective that varies from the main story, and establishing the otherworldly stance. One of its most useful objectives is to predict. Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park serves as the first of two prologues. The first concludes with the lines below:

“Parties to that settlement, including the distinguished scientific board of advisers, signed a nondisclosure agreement, and none will speak about what happened-but many of the principal figures in the “InGen incident” are not signatories, and were willing to discuss the remarkable events leading up to those final two days in August 1989 on a remote island off the west coast of Costa Rica.”

What we know: That a company called InGen created a genetic crisis. What we want to know: What is this crisis? What effects did it have?

Direct predictions are a fun literary technique because they invite readers to speculate. However, you do not want a narrator who can reveal the beans, or you work hard to create an eye-catching prologue. Only consider the following indirect explanations for more sophisticated prediction techniques.

Indirect Foreshadowing Examples

6) Indirect Foreshadowing: The Innocuous Statement

Although the preceding example may be considered “hiding in plain sight,” the technique is often utilized in a more sophisticated way. Take Obi-Wan Kenobi’s statement to Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II:

“Why do I get the feeling, you will be the death of me?”

These remarks may be heard later in the story when Anakin-turned-Darth-Vader ultimately murders Obi-Wan. Although this foreboding picture may not entice readers to seek out more information as it unfolds, we wonder what additional clues could have been left behind if we hadn’t been the wiser.

7) Indirect Foreshadowing: The Pathetic Fallacy

The pathetic fallacy occurs when non-human objects, such as nature portray human feelings. And it has the potential to be a really powerful instrument. Consider this: would Wuthering Heights have been the same if the bulk of the narrative had taken place on beautiful, bright days? Most likely not.

A strong blast of wind or the sun bursting through thick clouds may convey a lot. The former may elicit a feeling of dread, while the latter can forecast.

In Great Expectations, wordsmith Charles Dickens uses the weather to demonstrate Pip’s growing angst:

“So furious had been the gusts, that high buildings in town had had the lead stripped off their roofs; and in the country, trees had been torn up, and sails of windmills carried away; and gloomy accounts had come in from the coast, of shipwreck and death.”

8) Indirect Foreshadowing: The Symbol

Another warning starts with a character encountering a crow and ends with the figure being seen by a dove. One is usually a foreboding sign, while the other is traditionally associated with serenity.

Take this quote from the beginning of A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway:

“The leaves fell early that year.”

The visual transition between fall and winter, and leaves, is not a great sign of death.

9) Indirect Foreshadowing: Through Metaphor & Simile

How authors describe things will anticipate hidden things without entering the distracting realm of purple language. Metaphors and corresponding numbers are all spoken figures that are used to contrast or explain something. Metaphors, on the other hand, imply “Thing A is Thing B.” Both may benefit from foreshadowing methods. In Janet Finch’s White Oleander, Astrid continually contrasts her mother’s beauty with aspects of danger:

“I climbed to the roof and easily spotted her blond hair like a white flame in the light of the three-quarter moon.”

“Her beauty was like the edge of a very sharp knife.”

As the story progresses, danger and beauty become the two main aspects Astrid associates with her mother.

10) Indirect Foreshadowing: The Object

“If you have a gun hanging on the wall in Act One, it must discharge in Act Two.” For Anton Chekhov, the narrative maxim is: explain why it was worthwhile.

This guideline may also be used as a foreshadowing device. If a major event occurs somewhere in the narrative, mention it beforehand. It is also possible to reverse-engineer it. Mr. Poe starts the third book in A Series of Tragic Occurrences by giving peppermints to his siblings.

“If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats.” — Lemony Snicket

Foreshadow Wrap Up

By adding layers to your writing, mastering the art of foreshadowing may help. It provides a dynamic and compelling story. It allows for conjecture while the narrative develops and further contemplation on all the hints after the story is finished. It’s almost as if you’re delivering the tale in waves to the readers, ultimately exposing the whole island.