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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
Part 2
Explanation and Analysis—Mr. Ryder in the Mirror:
In an example of foreshadowing, Mr. Ryder spends some time looking at himself in his bedroom mirror after Eliza Jane leaves his house:
When she had turned the corner, he went upstairs to his bedroom, and stood for a long time before the mirror of his dressing-case, gazing thoughtfully at the reflection of his own face.
This moment foreshadows the fact that Mr. Ryder is the long-lost husband that Eliza Jane has been searching for for over two decades. While Eliza Jane did not recognize him—despite holding onto a photograph of him all this time—Mr. Ryder clearly recognized Eliza Jane. That he looks in the mirror “gazing thoughtfully” at himself suggests he is comparing himself to the young man in her photograph, possibly reflecting on how much his physical appearance has changed over the years as his social status shifted and he become more “absorbed” into white society.
Though Mr. Ryder is clearly aware that the man in the photo is him, Chesnutt does not reveal this to readers until the end of the story. This moment is just a hint that Mr. Ryder has something to do with Eliza Jane’s search for her husband and is therefore an example of foreshadowing.
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