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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 Nectar in a Sieve
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Nathan's Anger:
Nathan's unusual behavior toward Rukmani after the birth of Kunthi's son foreshadows tensions that will resurface later in the novel:
Kunthi was lying in an exhausted sleep, with her baby beside her, before I went home. It was a whole day since I had left. Nathan was waiting for me and he said crossly: “You look like a corpse. Whatever possessed you to stay so long?”
“Blame the midwife,” I said. “She could not be found. Or blame Kunthi’s son. He took a long time.”
[...]
“Well, so long as you don’t forget you are pregnant,” he said shortly and turned away. It was the first time I had seen him angry. Tears came pricking at my eyeballs.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Cobra:
A frightening encounter Rukmani has during her pregnancy with Irawaddy foreshadows later hardships her family will face:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I was tying the bean tendrils to the wire fence I had built when I saw a quiver in the leaves of the pumpkins. The fruit is repening, I thought, the birds are already here. Or perhaps mice. Leaving the beans I went to look, stooping to part the leaves in my hand.
Why did not the snake strike at once?
Was the cobra surprised into stillness that a human should dare to touch it?
My hands recoiled from the coldness of serpent flesh.
Related Themes:
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Janaki's Flight:
Although Rukmani's friend Janaki moves away from the village with little ceremony, her departure foreshadows how industrialization will disrupt the townspeople's lives:
Unlock with LitCharts A+A few days after our conversation the shop finally closed down. Nobody asked: “Where do you go from here?" They did not say, “What is to become of us?” We waited, and one day they came to bid us farewell [...] with their children trailing behind, all but the eldest, whom the tannery had claimed. Then they were gone, and the shopkeepers were glad that there was less competition, and the worker who moved into their hut was pleased to have a roof over his head, and we remembered them for a while and then took up our lives again.
Related Themes:
Chapter 29
Explanation and Analysis—The Flameless Temple:
Nathan falls ill while working at the city's stone quarry, and Rukmani must take him back to the temple where they are living. Toward the end of the harrowing journey, she realizes the temple's light is darkened, an image that foreshadows impending tragedy:
Unlock with LitCharts A+What do I remember? Every word, every detail. I remember walking along the wet deserted street by the wall of the temple; I remember looking up for the flare that had ever burnt on the top of the temple, and it was quenched; and the black demons of fear came shrieking at my ear and would not be silenced, for all that I repeated like a madwoman, “Fire cannot burn in water.”
Related Themes:
