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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—Lose Control:
In “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” Salinger uses foreshadowing to hint at Seymour’s mental instability and eventual suicide. Before Seymour even appears in the story, his mother-in-law discusses him as if he's “a raving maniac,” talking about how he might "completely lose control of himself." Muriel insists that her husband is fine and would not harm her. But Muriel's mother's repeated references to past wrongdoings—which go unspecified to the reader (i.e. "what he tried to do with Granny's chair")—reinforce a sense of foreboding. Readers are left with the impression that there is something very wrong with Seymour, and they spend the rest of the story waiting anxiously for him to "lose control of himself" in the way his mother-in-law has predicted.
Related Themes:
