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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
Chapter 1: Into the Primitive
Explanation and Analysis—Reading the Environment:
In Chapter 1, London foreshadows the "trouble" that is about to befall Buck by writing that Buck does not read newspapers and is therefore oblivious to current events:
Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego.
Related Themes:
Chapter 3: The Dominant Primordial Beast
Explanation and Analysis—Husky Attack:
In Chapter 3, a husky attack interrupts a fight between Buck and Spitz. This moment foreshadows both Spitz's eventual death and Thornton's death at the end of the novel:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[T]he thing [happened] which projected their struggle for supremacy far into the future, past many a weary mile of trail and toil.
An oath from Perrault, the resounding impact of a club upon a bony frame, and a shrill yelp of pain, heralded the breaking forth of pandemonium. The camp was suddenly discovered to be alive with skulking furry forms,—starving huskies, four or five score of them, who had scented the camp from some Indian village.
Related Themes:
Chapter 7: The Sounding of the Call
Explanation and Analysis—Reading the Environment:
In Chapter 1, London foreshadows the "trouble" that is about to befall Buck by writing that Buck does not read newspapers and is therefore oblivious to current events:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego.
Related Themes:
