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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 Infinite Jest
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Tangled Narrative:
Chapter 1 ends with a long stream of consciousness from Hal's perspective. While the details he brings up seem disjointed and meaningless outside his inner world, they in fact foreshadow a coherent narrative that comes together by the end of the novel:
I think of the Moms, alphabetizing cans of soup in the cabinet over the microwave. Of Himself’s umbrella hung...inside the Headmaster’s House’s foyer...I think of John N. R. Wayne, who would have won this year’s WhataBurger, standing watch in a mask as Donald Gately and I dig up my father’s head. There’s very little doubt that Wayne would have won. And Venus Williams...may well attend the 18’s Boys’ and Girls’ finals. I will be out in plenty of time for tomorrow’s semi; I trust Uncle Charles.
Related Themes:
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Revenge Tragedy:
Chapter 10 tells the story of how Don Gately ends up at Ennet House after he is linked to the death of Guillaume DuPlessis, an operative from Québec. This backstory foreshadows a major revenge plot that never fully comes to fruition, ultimately parodying revenge tragedies like Shakespeare's Hamlet:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Don Gately... had, of course, a special place in the heart of a remorseless Revere A.D.A. with judicial clout throughout Boston’s three counties and beyond, an of course particularly remorseless A.D.A., as of late, whose wife now needed Valium even just to floss, and was patiently awaiting his chance, the A.D.A. was, coldly biding his time, being a patient Get-Even and Cold-Dish man just like Don Gately, who was, through no will to energy-consuming violence on his part, in the sort of a hell of a deep-shit mess that can turn a man’s life right around.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Larger Seafood:
In Chapter 16, Steeply asks if Marathe and the A.F.R. are behind the death of the medical attaché, who appears to be the first victim of The Entertainment. Marathe responds with a garbled English idiom, the humor of which foreshadows Orin's involvement in the whole affair:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘We have neither digestive medicals nor diplomatic entourages on any lists for action. You have personally seen A.F.R.’s initial lists. Nor in particular Montreal civilians. We have, as one will say, larger seafood to cook.’
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Canadian Separatism:
In Chapter 22, Orin calls Hal (a new development in the past year—previously, Orin never called). Right before Hal can hang up, Orin asks a question that foreshadows the revelation that dramatic irony has led him into a terrorist plot:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘Uh oh. Dinnertime. Triangle’s a-clangin’ over in West.’
‘Hey Hallie though? Hang on. Kidding aside for a second. What all do you know about Separatism?’
Hal stopped for a moment. ‘You mean in Canada?’
Related Themes:
