Looking into the Future

There are many times in life when a person would like to look forward into the future to see what lies ahead. Seeing what lies ahead can help prepare one for what is about to happen. Even if a person can look ahead, there still may be surprises. This way of thinking is called foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a way of indicating or hinting at what will come later. Foreshadowing can be subtle, like storm clouds on the horizon suggesting that danger is coming, or it can be more direct. A more direct approach would be in Chopin’s “The Awakening^add(.)”.16d Edna’s first venture into the ocean elicits emotion of pride and freedom followed by a sudden vision of death, foreshadowing the stories ending when she swims to her death. Three examples in the story “A Rose for Emily,^del(,)”13a show how foreshadowing can add dramatic tension and give the surprise ending legitimacy once it occurs.

In the first example, Faulkner shows foreshadowing of the ending when Emily is reluctant to give up her father’s body once he dies. Emily tToldt[ells](tells) them that her father was(is)42:tense not dead. In this instance, the townspeople are aware of her father’s death. This instance is an implication of Emily’s rising madness. Emily’s madness led(will lead)7b/27a her through many different emotions,(del,)13c and situations. Her unwillingness to let her father go also foreshadows events to happen with Homer Barron. Faulkner uses precise detailing to clue the reader in on things to come.

Another example is shown by the secrets used throughout “A Rose for Emily.” For example, Faulkner uses this technique in the following line,(add:)3 “….So they were not surprised when the smell developed” (92). The foreshadowing here is the smell that developed as a result of Homer Barron’s dead body being kept in the home. The townspeople were never allowed inside of the house after Homer was last seen. They never make the connection that Emily murdered