O Pioneers!

by Willa Cather

O Pioneers!: Foreshadowing 2 key examples

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
Part 2, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Frank's Jealousy:

In Part 2, Chapter 4, Alexandra describes Frank to Carl. The way she hones in on his jealousy foreshadows the violent end of Frank and Marie's marriage:

He’s jealous about everything, his farm and his horses and his pretty wife. Everybody likes her, just the same as when she was little. Sometimes I go up to the Catholic church with Emil, and it’s funny to see Marie standing there laughing and shaking hands with people, looking so excited and gay, with Frank sulking behind her as if he could eat everybody alive.

Part 2, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Bloody Ducks:

In Part 2, Chapter 5, Carl watches as Emil and Marie hunt ducks. The narrator uses imagery to foreshadow Marie and Emil's violent, disappointing end:

When [Emil] came back, dangling the ducks by their feet, Marie held her apron and he dropped them into it. As she stood looking down at them, her face changed. She took up one of the birds, a rumpled ball of feathers with the blood dripping slowly from its mouth, and looked at the live color that still burned on its plumage.

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