Previous
Foil
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 18. White Canoe: 1960
Explanation and Analysis—Like Giraffes:
When Tate sees how much Kya's illiteracy is holding her back, he visits her often, bringing her books and trying to inspire her to keep learning. This passage employs simile and foreshadowing to show Tate encouraging Kya’s progress as she learns to read.
On every trip to Kya's, Tate took school or library books, especially on marsh creatures and biology. Her progress was startling. She could read anything now, he said, and once you can read anything you can learn everything. It was up to her. “Nobody’s come close to filling their brains,” he said. “We’re all like giraffes not using their necks to reach the higher leaves.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 24. The Fire Tower: 1965
Explanation and Analysis—Fire Tower Grate:
In this scene, the author uses foreshadowing and personification to create a sense of unease during Kya’s first visit to the fire tower with Chase. Chase brings Kya up the tower so they can be alone, but their arrival interrupts a space that usually belongs to hawks.
Unlock with LitCharts A+When they reached the last step, Chase pushed open the iron grate covering the stairwell. After they climbed onto the platform, he eased it down again. Before stepping on it, Kya tested it by tapping it with her. toes. Chase laughed lightly. “It’s fine, don’t worry.” He led her to the railing, where they looked over the marshland. Two red-tailed hawks, the wind whistling through their wings, soared by at eye level, their heads cocked in surprise to see a young man and woman standing in their airspace.
Related Themes:
Chapter 41. A Small Herd: 1969
Explanation and Analysis—Mantis Love:
Kya uses metaphor and foreshadowing to connect her feelings about Chase beating and trying to rape her to her observations of insect sexual behavior in the swamp. She watches a pair of praying mantises mate and thinks about how much power the female has over the male:
Unlock with LitCharts A+His embrace might have been tight or tender, Kya couldn’t tell, but while he probed about with his copulatory organ to fertilize her eggs, the female turned back her long, elegant neck and bit off his head. He was so busy humping, he didn’t notice. His neck stump waved about as he continued his business, and she nibbled on his thorax, and then his wings [...] Female fireflies draw in strange males with dishonest signals and eat them: mantis females devour their own mates. Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers.
Related Themes:
