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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: I Remember, I Remember
Explanation and Analysis—Losing My Religion:
In Chapter 1, Franklin offers the reader a look into Sybylla's early relationship with her father through foreshadowing and the use of several metaphors invoking knowledge. Sybylla tells the reader that as a child her father was her
[...] hero, confidant, encyclopedia, mate, and even my religion till I was ten. Since then I have been religionless.
Sybylla's description of her father here encapsulates her childhood admiration for him. It presents him as an all-knowing, indispensable figure in her life. She refers to him as her "hero, confidant, encyclopedia, mate, and even [her] religion." This list of metaphors paints a vivid image of a father who is not just a parental figure, but also a mentor, a companion, and a pillar of knowledge. He’s so reliable that he is Sybylla's “religion”: she trusts that he is there, like an unseen god, without having to test the fact. This all-encompassing admiration reflects Sybylla’s youthful naivety. It also shows the reader the extent of her emotional dependence on her father at this early point in the book, and explains her extreme disappointment with him later.
Franklin adds an abrupt note of foreboding to the passage with the phrase, "Since then I have been religionless." This phrase indicates a profound shift in Sybylla's perception of her father and her relationship with him between the time of her childhood and the time of narration. Just as someone might lose faith in their deity or their religion, Sybylla has lost her faith in her father. She is “religionless” after he breaks her trust. This ominous hint prepares Franklin’s reader for the future decline of their bond.
Related Themes:
Chapter 2: An Introduction to Possum Gully
Explanation and Analysis—Just Enough:
In Chapter 2, the author uses foreshadowing to suggest future hardships for Sybylla's family. Sybylla tells that reader that, before coming to Possum Gully, her father had:
[...] preceded us with a bullock-drayload of furniture and belongings, which was all Father had retained of his household property. Just sufficient for us to get along with, until he had time to settle and purchase more, he said. That was ten years ago, and that is the only furniture we possess yet—just enough to get along with.
In this passage, Franklin hints at the long-lasting economic struggles that await the family because of Mr. Melvyn’s choices. Her father brings only a bullock-drayload (as much as a bullock could pull in a cart) of furniture to their new home, claiming it to be sufficient until he has time to settle and buy more. Yet, the older, narrating Sybylla reveals that "That was ten years ago, and that is the only furniture we possess yet—just enough to get along with." The lack of furniture foreshadows their ongoing struggle to improve their living conditions: after leaving Bruggabrong they never have enough of anything again.
This use of foreshadowing builds anticipation of the coming struggles in the reader's mind and provides a grim look into the family's future. It is as if Sybylla is priming the reader for the hardships and trials that she and her family will have to face. By indicating these losses early in the narrative, the author sets a somber tone and paves the way for Sybylla’s coming troubles in her “Brilliant Career.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 4: A Career Which Soon Careered To An End
Explanation and Analysis—A Lively Career:
In Chapter 4, Mr. Melvyn has decided to move his family to Possum Gully and pursue a career in trading stocks. The narrator employs dramatic irony and foreshadowing to underscore the tragic trajectory of this risky and foolish choice. Sybylla tells the reader that:
While Mother, Jane Haizelip, and I found the days long and life slow, Father was enjoying himself immensely. He had embarked upon a lively career—that gambling trade known as dealing in stock. [...] He was crippled with too many Utopian ideas of honesty, and was too soft ever to come off anything but second-best in a deal. He might as well have attempted to make his fortune by scraping a fiddle [...]
Franklin bathes the term "lively career" in verbal irony in this passage. It is used to describe Mr. Melvyn’s venture into stock trading, but the reader is already aware of the impending failure of his endeavors because the narrator has explained them—so, "lively" ironically implies ruin. The depiction of him as being "crippled with too many Utopian ideas of honesty" and "too soft ever to come off anything but second-best in a deal" is both critical and kind. Mr. Melvyn is not a very smart or strong person, but those problems come from an excess of honesty and “softness.” The grim foreshadowing of the statement that he “might as well have attempted to make his fortune by scraping a fiddle” doesn’t bode well for Sybylla’s father’s “lively career.”
This contrast between Mr. Melvyn's enthusiasm and the reader's knowledge of his coming failure intensifies the sense of tragedy surrounding this character. The dramatic irony used here highlights the disparity between his optimistic perception of his world and the harsh realities that await him. While his family experiences slow and laborious days in dull Possum Gully, Mr. Melvyn immerses himself in a career that mirrors the volatility and excitement of a “gambling trade.” With this in mind, another instance of dramatic irony lies in the disconnect between Melvyn’s genuine enjoyment of his work in the present moment, and the reality of the problems his misplaced enthusiasm causes later. Current happiness often means future troubles in My Brilliant Career.
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