Examples Of Foreshadowing In Amber Mcbride

Throughout this novel, we are able to see little hints at a bigger truth. Author Amber Mcbride uses many different literary devices to help tell the story of this book, but what about the use of foreshadowing? How has the author used this technique to tell the story, but in a way where we do not realize it until the end? Moth has felt alone as she has lost everything in her life. She is ignored, left behind, and she has changed her name. What is the real reason why all of this is happening? Does the use of foreshadowing help make this story better or worse, and why do we initially fail to pick up on it? At the start of the book we are introduced to the Moth. She lost her family in a tragic crash and is the only survivor. She has changed schools

She feels at home with dance but has stopped, and even says “sometimes I feel less alive” (McBride, page 9). After their crash, Moth and her family are in the hospital and her aunt is visiting. On that day “There was only enough prayer & blood for one of us to walk out” (McBride, page 4). This is a great example of foreshadowing that we do not pick up on as we believe the person that walks out is Moth, but it is in fact her aunt. Later on in the novel, her aunt whispers “I need to get away. I can't live without your ghosts” (McBride, page 56). That quote at first would be taken as just her family's ghost, but as we read on and discover the whole truth we know it is in fact Moth's ghost

No one is able to talk to her because they can not see her, she is a ghost. That is why the kids do not learn her name, why she has given up her dancing, and the reason why her aunt has left without saying goodbye. When we first met Moth, she had changed her name. After the crash, she believes her name is not normal, and now that she has no one to mind her name being changed, she does it. Moth says “When I die people will still say, (Moth)” (Mcbride, page 2) which I believe is the author's way of telling us moth is already dead, since people like Sani are now calling her Moth instead of her name. Why was Moth the name she chose? Moths are seen as symbols of death and are believed to bring messages from the afterlife. They are also known as the connection between physical and spiritual realms. This perfectly aligns with the story of Moth herself as she has died, and from the afterlife she is reaching out to those in need and guiding them along the