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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 9: The Sermon
Explanation and Analysis—Jonah and the whale :
Father Mapple’s sermon on the biblical tale of Jonah and the Whale foreshadows the sinfulness and ill fate that awaits the Pequod’s voyage while also alluding to Ishmael’s future role as a type of prophet. Father Mapple explains how Jonah was punished for not following the commands of God but was later rewarded when he repented. The tale shares many obvious themes with the tale of Moby Dick itself, with it featuring a voyage, a whale, and ideas of sin and punishment.
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Chapter 15: Chowder
Explanation and Analysis—Fatal References:
From the very start of the novel, Moby-Dick is filled with explicit references to death that foreshadow the story’s grisly ending. When entering the Try Pots near the beginning of the novel, before Ishmael and Queequeg have signed onto the Pequod, Ishmael describes his unnerve at the sign in front of the doorway that “looked not a little like a gallows.” He goes on to reflect:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Perhaps I was over sensitive to such impressions at the time, but I could not help staring at this gallows with a vague misgiving. A sort of crick was in my neck as I gazed up to the two remaining horns; yes, two of them, one for Queequeg, and one for me. It’s ominous, thinks I. A Coffin my Innkeeper upon landing in my first whaling port; tombstones staring at me in the whalemen’s chapel; and here a gallows!
Related Themes:
Chapter 16: The Ship
Explanation and Analysis—The Pequod:
The rich visual imagery used to describe the appearance of the Pequod paints a gruesome image that foreshadows the ship’s dark and violent journey ahead. In intricate detail, Ishmael paints a striking image of the Pequod’s exterior, which draws him to the ship. He says:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She was apparelled like any barbaric Ethiopian emperor, his neck heavy with pendants of polished ivory. She was a thing of trophies. A cannibal of a craft, tricking herself forth in the chased bones of her enemies. All round, her unpanelled, open bulwarks were garnished like one continuous jaw, with the long sharp teeth of the sperm whale.
Related Themes:
Chapter 19: The Prophet
Explanation and Analysis—Faust:
When Ishmael and Queequeg sign the shipping papers to commit themselves to the Pequod, Melville makes an allusion to the German legend of Faust, which hints at the ill fate that awaits the shipmates. After Ishmael and Queequeg have signed their shipping papers, they are accosted by the prophet Elijah, who asks if they have just signed onto the Pequod:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“Yes,” said I, “we have just signed the articles.”
“Anything down there about your souls?”
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