The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan

The Joy Luck Club: 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 1, Chapter 4: The Moon Lady
Explanation and Analysis—Trailing Shadows:

Personification and foreshadowing follow Ying-Ying throughout the Moon Festival. After nearly drowning in the lake, Ying-Ying returns to land in Part 1, Chapter 4, accompanied by her “shadow”:

On the dock, with the bright moon behind me, I once again saw my shadow. It was shorter this time, shrunken and wild-looking. We ran together over to some bushes along a walkway and hid. In this hiding place I could hear people talking as they walked by.

Part 3, Chapter 1: Rice Husband
Explanation and Analysis—Marrying a Bad Man:

Ying-Ying St. Clair is a powerful, prophetic presence in Lena’s home. From childhood, Lena recounts how her mother foresees her brother’s stillborn death, the bank closure down the street, and her father’s death. In Part 3, Chapter 1, she reads her daughter’s failed marriage in the rice bowl:

My mother had looked in my rice bowl and told me I would marry a bad man.

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