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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
Chapters 17–42
Explanation and Analysis—Life in Tahiti:
When Strickland and the narrator dine together, Strickland foreshadows his life in Tahiti by speaking of an island where he believes he will be happy:
Strickland did not speak for a long time, but his eyes shone strangely, as though he saw something that kindled his soul to ecstasy. "Sometimes I’ve thought of an island lost in a boundless sea, where I could live in some hidden valley, among strange trees, in silence. There I think I could find what I want.”
Without knowing what the future holds for him in Tahiti, Strickland is enamored by the idea of a paradise island where he can finally grab hold of his dreams. He believes that this island will be the place where he discovers his true self through art.
However, readers also need to take into account the fact that Strickland's dialogue, particularly in this scene, has been reconstructed by the narrator. Because of the frame story nature of the novel, the narrator is writing this dialogue with hindsight bias. Since the narrator knew of Strickland's life in Tahiti, it is possible that he tailored this excerpt to both fit the truth and make a more alluring story. The narrator is an artist, after all, though his creations are made of words and stories instead of paints and canvases.
Explanation and Analysis—The Tragedy of Blanche:
When Strickland falls deathly ill, Stroeve asks his wife, Blanche, if they can take him in and nurse him back to health. Blanche fears that something terrible will happen if they take Strickland in, which foreshadows her own imminent death:
“But I beseech you not to bring Strickland here.”
“But why?”
“I’m frightened of him. I don’t know why, but there’s something in him that terrifies me. He’ll do us some great harm. I know it. I feel it. If you bring him here it can only end badly.”
“But how unreasonable!”
“No, no. I know I’m right. Something terrible will happen to us.”
The way that Blanche can feel something terrible looming on the horizon feels very literary and too coincidental to happen in real life. As a result, this moment illustrates the fictional element of this story and reminds the reader that Charles Strickland, however realistically the narrator paints him, is not a real person.
Blanche also believes that Strickland will "do us great harm," yet her dire ending is by her own hand. This prediction suggests that her suicide is (at least in part) a consequence of Strickland's emotional manipulation and also an illustration of his inability to care as deeply for people as he does for his art. It should be noted that Blanche's suicide is perhaps a nod to the suicide attempt of Gauguin (the real-life artist Strickland's character is based on), which occurred in 1897.
