Foreshadowing Essay

Foreshadowing Essay

Essay I
15. Why is foreshadowing important in short stories and how does it affect the way the reader interprets the story?
Authors use foreshadowing to hint at future important events.  Foreshadowing is important because it is used to add depth and complexity to a work, but it is mainly used to increase suspense.  Whether consciously or unconsciously, readers pick up on these clues if they read and use them to make predictions about what will happen later in the story.
Foreshadowing is important because it can be used to direct the reader's attetion.  I also can be used in symbolism, and to pinpoint themes, because authors use foreshadowing to let the reader know that something is important.
One example of foreshadowing is in the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry.  The book begins with a young boy discussing a plan that flew overhead that frightens him.  The plan was not supposed to be there, and its presence foreshadows problems in the supposedly Utopian community.  When Jonas discovers these problems, he is forced to flee and is chased by search planes, bringing the story full circle.
https://www.enotes.com/lit/q-and-a/why-foreshadowing-important-short-stories-how-does-245435
Foreshadowing is a wonderful technique that I imagine is not the easiest device to use. It requires a great deal of planning ahead, knowing exactly what the ending will be, and including enough to pique the reader's curiosity, but not enough to give away the ending.
Dr. L. Kip Wheeler provides the following definition for foreshadowing:
Suggesting, hinting, indicating, or showing what will occur later in a narrative. Foreshadowing often provides hints about what will happen next.
Foreshadowing provides clues as to what is to come, and for a perceptive reader, using this technique is particularly engaging.
For example, in The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin, the story is built on the premise that a mystery needs to be solved by the story's conclusion. Clues are presented to the...