Previous
Foil
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 4
Explanation and Analysis—Ikemefuna's Death:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 4, Achebe foreshadows Ikemefuna's death in Chapter 7:
Nwoye remembered this period very vividly till the end of his life. He even remembered how he had laughed when Ikemefuna told him that the proper name for a corn cob with only a few scattered grains was eze-agadi-nwayi, or the teeth of an old woman.
In this passage, Achebe refers to ongoing events in the past tense, specifically as "this period." The word "period" implies a discrete stretch of time with a definite beginning and end, indicating to readers that Ikemefuna's time with Nwoye will eventually end. In Chapter 7, Okonkwo and several other Igbo men murder Ikemefuna at the behest of their god. In retrospect, it is clear that this murder concludes the "period" to which Achebe refers in Chapter 4.
Nwoye remembers this period of time with Ikemefuna vividly because of the trauma that would follow. Losing Ikemefuna cements Nwoye's time with him as a significant memory. After his friend's death at Okonkwo's hands, Nwoye holds tightly to his anger and upset. Many years later, these feelings towards Okonkwo resurface, incentivizing Nwoye to abandon his family and religious traditions and convert to Christianity.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Darkness:
Chapter 11 opens with a hyperbolic statement, intended to establish mood:
A palm-oil lamp gave out yellowish light. Without it, it would have been impossible to eat; one could not have known where one's mouth was in the darkness of that night.
This darkness may be total—it may be near-impossible to see without light—but it is extremely unlikely that a person would not be able to find one of their own body parts in the darkness. The statement that "one could not have known where one's mouth was in the darkness of that night" serves a figurative purpose rather than a literal one. Akin to the phrase, "it was a dark and stormy night," this instance of hyperbole sets the mood in Chapter 11, indicating that difficult and perhaps terrifying things will occur.
The above hyperbolic statement could also be considered foreshadowing. Later on in Chapter 11, this dark mood comes to fruition: Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, arrives in the middle of the night demanding to take Ezinma to visit her god. Terrified that she will lose her only daughter, Ekwefi follows Chielo on foot, tracking Ezinma and the priestess through the darkness. Ekwefi and Okonkwo are perpetually in fear for Ezinma's life; these circumstances only exacerbate their worry.
