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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 19
Explanation and Analysis—Afraid of the Rain:
When Catherine tells Henry about her fear of rain, she foreshadows the story's tragic ending, including her own death:
"All right. I’m afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it."
"No."
"And sometimes I see you dead in it."
"That’s more likely."
"No, it’s not, darling. Because I can keep you safe. I know I can. But nobody can help themselves."
Catherine nearly outlines the events of the story's finale, when Henry leaves the hospital and walks back in the rain, now childless and wifeless. Just as Catherine foreshadows, she is dead in the rain and Henry is very much alive. Throughout the story, the rain represents not only tragedy but also the inevitability of death. Life is something that cannot be controlled, much like the rain that falls throughout the novel. It is therefore not just Catherine's foreshadowing that brings about her death, but also the presence of rain during her childbirth.
However, there is also a fallacy within Catherine's foreshadowing, in that she sees herself dead in the rain, but is still able to keep Henry safe. Yet in the end, once Catherine dies from complications during childbirth, Henry is alone. Catherine cannot help Henry once she is dead, and now Henry is the only one who can help himself.
Related Themes:
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Desertion:
When Henry meets Gino, a young Italian soldier, he is off-put by his blindly patriotic sentiments, demonstrating Henry's reluctance about the war and foreshadowing his desertion:
I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, […] and had read them, on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations, now for a long time, and I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it.
Though Henry does not put his faith in religion, demonstrated by his conversations with the priest, he has an understanding of what the words "glorious" and "sacrifice" mean. Henry strictly disagrees with the way the army uses those words to justify an unjustifiable cause.
From the beginning of the novel, Henry’s sense of loyalty toward the Italian Army and fervor toward World War I in general is unconvincing. He uses his leave to indulge in vices such as drinking and sex. He is often more concerned with Catherine than his role in the war. Henry also exhibits his reluctance to fight in the war when he helps a soldier avoid the war through hospitalization in Chapter 7. Thus, his eventual decision to desert the army isn't all that surprising.
Related Themes:
