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Dramatic Irony
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 Native Son
Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—Dancing Free and Wild:
While Jack and Bigger watch Trader Horn in the movie theater, the narrative turns away from the film and goes inside Bigger's mind. Wright announces this switch from conventional narrative to a stream of consciousness: "Bigger tuned his eyes to the screen, but he did not look. He was filled with a sense of excitement about his new job." From this point on, it is clear that the narrative has turned to Bigger's thoughts. The novel is in a proximal third person: while the book has a third-person narrator, it is not omniscient, and the reader sees only what Bigger sees. So when Bigger looks away from the movie and turns to his thoughts, so goes the narrative.
Related Themes:
Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—Something I Can't Help:
Throughout Book One, Bigger often imagines possible action—usually violent—that he can take to relieve the anxiety and tension he feels because of his position in society. Wright uses his imagination in this regard to foreshadow actual events that take place later in the novel.
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Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—Red Bed of Fire:
The furnace is a crucial image in the novel: it is the place of the climax of Book 1 and the focus of much of the investigation in Book 2. The first time Bigger encounters the furnace is very thoroughly described, thus foreshadowing its important position in the narrative.
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