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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
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—When You’re Ready:
Obinze’s mother cautions Ifemelu and Obinze against rushing into sex in Chapter 5, when their lovemaking attempts goes awry. But life advice turns into foreshadowing as she urges them to wait for the right time:
“I was once young. I know what it is like to love while young. I want to advise you. I am aware that, in the end, you will do what you want. My advice is that you wait. You can love without making love. It is a beautiful way of showing your feelings but it brings responsibility, great responsibility, and there is no rush. I will advise you to wait until you are at least in the university, wait until you own yourself a little more […] Both of you should agree to wait so that there is no pressure."
Related Themes:
Chapter 17
Explanation and Analysis—Meeting Blaine:
In Chapter 17, Ifemelu and Blaine’s shared train ride awakens an unexpected new romance. As the seat mates flirt and exchange emotional goodbyes, their fortuitous meeting foreshadows an equally magical future relationship:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He wrote his number on her magazine. “You take care,” he said. He touched her shoulder lightly as he left and there was something in his eyes, something both tender and sad, that made her tell herself that she had been wrong to sense reluctance from him. He already missed her. She moved to his seat, reveling in the warmth his body had left in its wake, and watched through the window as he walked along the platform.
Related Themes:
Chapter 30
Explanation and Analysis—Thickening of Doom:
For Obinze, dreadful expectation comes just a step ahead of deep disappointment. Chapter 30’s foreshadowing spells imminent doom as he and Cleotilde arrive at the civic center on their wedding day. Though he tries following through the motions of marriage even after the police arrive, something feels terribly awry:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There was nothing to worry about, nothing at all, he told himself, the civic center probably had policemen present as a matter of routine; but he sensed in the sudden smallness of the hallway, the sudden thickening of doom in the air, that something was wrong, before he noticed another man approaching him, his shirtsleeves rolled up, his cheeks so red he looked as though he was wearing terrible makeup.
Related Themes:
