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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
Prologue: The Flag
Explanation and Analysis—Home-Cooked Red:
In Prologue: The Flag, Death uses provocative imagery as he foreshadows the Himmel Street bombing:
Yes, the sky was now a devastating, home-cooked red. The small German town had been flung apart one more time. Snowflakes of ash fell so lovelily you were tempted to stretch out your tongue to catch them, taste them. Only, they would have scorched your lips. They would have cooked your mouth.
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Part 1: The Smell of Friendship
Explanation and Analysis—Accordion Story:
In Part 1: The Smell of Friendship, Liesel and Hans bond over books and Hans's accordion. Death foreshadows Max's arrival at Himmel Street with a bit of personification:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She didn’t see him watching as he played, having no idea that Hans Hubermann’s accordion was a story. In the times ahead, that story would arrive at 33 Himmel Street in the early hours of morning, wearing ruffled shoulders and a shivering jacket. It would carry a suitcase, a book, and two questions. A story. Story after story. Story within story.
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Part 3: The Way Home
Explanation and Analysis—Hans's Idea:
In Part 3: The Way Home, Hans Hubermann has an idea and that leads him to buy a copy of Mein Kampf. The chapter ends with dramatic irony and foreshadowing:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...]Hans Hubermann’s idea had not only sprung from Liesel, but from his son. Did he already fear he’d never see him again? On the other hand, he was also enjoying the ecstasy of an idea, not daring just yet to envision its complications, dangers, and vicious absurdities. For now, the idea was enough. It was indestructible. Transforming it into reality, well, that was something else altogether. For now, though, let’s let him enjoy it.
We’ll give him seven months.
Then we come for him.
And oh, how we come.
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Part 7: The Long Walk to Dachau
Explanation and Analysis—Something She Should See:
In Part 7: The Long Walk to Dachau, Liesel and Rudy find Hans in the crowd of onlookers as Nazi soldiers march Jewish prisoners through Molching to Dachau. There is dramatic irony in Hans's hesitation about whether or not he should send Liesel home, and it also foreshadows the important scene that is about to take place:
Unlock with LitCharts A+They both crossed and made their way up, and Hans Hubermann attempted at first to take them away. “Liesel,” he said. “Maybe …"
He realized, however, that the girl was determined to stay, and perhaps it was something she should see. In the breezy autumn air, he stood with her. He did not speak.
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