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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—Nice Company:
One of the first things that the reader learns about Mr. Nuttel is that he has gone into his rural retreat with the assumption that reaching out to people in the area and getting to know them will do him little good.
Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.
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Explanation and Analysis—Return of the Dead:
Because "The Open Window" takes its name from an element of the story's immediate setting, Saki sets the reader up to expect something from the open window before the story has even begun. Rather than serving as a piece of visual imagery in the background of the story, the open window instigates several of the story's main events. Both Saki's story and Vera's story spring from the open window; it becomes clear that something significant will have to happen in relation to this element of the setting.
Unlock with LitCharts A+'You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon,' said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.
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Explanation and Analysis—Masculine Habitation:
In the initial conversation between Vera and Mr. Nuttel, she gathers that he knows very little about her aunt and family. In the four years since Mr. Nuttel's sister stayed at the nearby rectory, Vera finds a large amount of space to fill with her creative freedom. Mr. Nuttel is too gullible and nervous to consider whether the self-possessed teenage girl in front of him is trustworthy. Nonetheless, he experiences a moment of perceptiveness just before Vera begins to recount her tall tale, when he looks around the room and gets an inkling that men live there.
Unlock with LitCharts A+He was wondering whether Mrs Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.
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