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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
Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—Death and Suicide:
When the primary timeline of Norwegian Wood begins, Toru and Naoko are in Tokyo at university, and Kizuki has already died. His suicide hangs over all aspects of the novel, both propelling the plot and hinting at the death to come by creating an ominous mood.
Toru and Naoko acutely feel the trauma of Kizuki’s death. It sends both of them into states in which they are detached from the world around them. As a result, neither of them seem able to experience intimacy. This is especially true of Naoko, who is plagued by the relationship between trauma and sex for the rest of the novel. She believes that she can never love anyone but Kizuki, and her grief prevents her from being physically intimate with anyone else. This trauma leads to Naoko’s struggling mental health, and, eventually, her suicide. In terms of the novel's plot, then, Kizuki's death directly leads to Naoko's death. Kizuki’s death also brings Toru and Naoko together, prompting their relationship.
For the reader, Kizuki's death creates the ominous sense that death and suicide are hanging heavily around these characters. From the beginning, Kizuki’s suicide frames death as a “way out” of life—a mentality that makes death a menacing, ever-present threat. This ultimately foreshadows Naoko's eventual suicide.
