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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
Key Examples in A Visit from the Goon Squad
Chapter 1: Found Objects
Explanation and Analysis—Sasha and Alex:
When Sasha and Alex visit her New York City apartment in Chapter 1, the scene features an instance of foreshadowing that is at once significant and unexpected—unexpected because, at first glance, A Visit from the Goon Squad's nonlinear structure might seem to resist conventional narrative devices like foreshadowing across its 13 chapters.
In this moment in Chapter 1, Sasha observes Alex as he admires her apartment's bathtub, located, unusually, in her kitchen. She wonders how Alex will remember her once they part:
She saw her bathtub as he must see it—a bit of local color that would fade almost instantly into the tumble of adventures that everyone has on first coming to New York. It jarred Sasha to think of herself as a glint in the hazy memories that Alex would struggle to organize a year or two from now: Where was that place with the bathtub? Who was that girl?
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Connecting Chapters:
At first glance, the chronology of A Visit from the Goon Squad's 13 chapters seems random and without any internal logic. However, consistent foreshadowing throughout the book signals to the reader the next story in the sequence. Foreshadowing, therefore, remains an important device for structuring the novel's development.
In one such example, Egan foreshadows the subject of Chapter 2—that is, Bennie Salazar and his strange gold consumption—in Sasha's narration in Chapter 1. During her date with Alex, Sasha shares some offhanded remarks about her peculiar boss, Bennie:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...] Sasha's admittedly overhanded tales of Bennie Salazar, her old boss, who was famous for founding the Sow's Ear record label and who also (Sasha happened to know) sprinkled gold flakes into his coffee—as an aphrodisiac, she suspected—and sprayed pesticide in his armpits.
Related Themes:
Chapter 2: The Gold Cure
Explanation and Analysis—Connecting Chapters:
At first glance, the chronology of A Visit from the Goon Squad's 13 chapters seems random and without any internal logic. However, consistent foreshadowing throughout the book signals to the reader the next story in the sequence. Foreshadowing, therefore, remains an important device for structuring the novel's development.
In one such example, Egan foreshadows the subject of Chapter 2—that is, Bennie Salazar and his strange gold consumption—in Sasha's narration in Chapter 1. During her date with Alex, Sasha shares some offhanded remarks about her peculiar boss, Bennie:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...] Sasha's admittedly overhanded tales of Bennie Salazar, her old boss, who was famous for founding the Sow's Ear record label and who also (Sasha happened to know) sprinkled gold flakes into his coffee—as an aphrodisiac, she suspected—and sprayed pesticide in his armpits.
Related Themes:
Chapter 13: Pure Language
Explanation and Analysis—Sasha and Alex:
When Sasha and Alex visit her New York City apartment in Chapter 1, the scene features an instance of foreshadowing that is at once significant and unexpected—unexpected because, at first glance, A Visit from the Goon Squad's nonlinear structure might seem to resist conventional narrative devices like foreshadowing across its 13 chapters.
In this moment in Chapter 1, Sasha observes Alex as he admires her apartment's bathtub, located, unusually, in her kitchen. She wonders how Alex will remember her once they part:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She saw her bathtub as he must see it—a bit of local color that would fade almost instantly into the tumble of adventures that everyone has on first coming to New York. It jarred Sasha to think of herself as a glint in the hazy memories that Alex would struggle to organize a year or two from now: Where was that place with the bathtub? Who was that girl?
Related Themes:
