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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
Explanation and Analysis—Day of Judgment :
Christie employs foreshadowing in a scene in which Mr. Blore, a former police inspector who now works as a private investigator, meets an old seaman on a train prior to arriving at Soldier Island:
The train stopped at a station and the old fellow rose unsteadily. “Thish where I get out.” He fumbled with the window. Mr. Blore helped him. The old man stood in the doorway. He raised a solemn hand and blinked his bleary eyes. “Watch and pray,” he said. “Watch and pray. The day of judgment is at hand.”
He collapsed through the doorway on to the platform. From a recumbent position he looked up at Mr. Blore and said with immense dignity: “I’m talking to you, young man. The day of judgment is very close at hand.”
Subsiding on to his seat Mr. Blore thought to himself: He’s nearer the day of judgment than I am!
At this point in the novel, Mr. Blore is eagerly anticipating his well-compensated trip to the island. However, the seaman’s odd remarks dampen his good mood, as they seem to foretell dark times ahead. In this scene, the seaman foreshadows later events in the novel, as the various guests on the island will indeed meet their “day of judgment” at the hands of a serial murderer.
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