In literature, foreshadowing is a literary device authors use to hint toward future events in the story. This can be helpful to the writer when she crafts her story to build suspense, to develop the plot and to add nuance. For example, if the murderer ends up being a character we were never introduced to, then the reader can feel unsatisfied or even confused. Conversely, foreshadowing can also be used to throw us off the murderer 's scent, so to speak, with deliberately placed clues called red herrings. For example, a red herring might make us think the husband did it, when it was really the wife the whole time. Foreshadowing can be as subtle as a seemingly-chance encounter, or as direct as the author giving away the ending in the beginning.
Taylor uses her protagonist, Sylvia, to show foreshadowing. From the beginning of the book, Sylvia has been described as nothing peculiar. This is shown through the quote; “She was a plain child, plump, mature for her eleven years. Her greasy hair
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This is shown in the quote "because of her docile manner she did not complain of her misery she suffered in Miss Harrisons darkened parlour" Taylor shows this in the opening so that the reader is kept involved in the story and the reader’s attention is grabbed by teaching us how upsetting Sylvia’s life has been and how it’s been for her losing her mother at such a young age, together this makes the reader want to read on so we can learn more about what has happened to Sylvia in her life and how she has struggled at times. In the first paragraph Taylor shows Sylvia’s emotions and feelings this is shown in the quote "because of her docile manner she did not complain of her misery she suffered in Miss Harrisons darkened parlour" this makes it sound a lot more serious and shows the reader in the beginning of the story that Sylvia is upset of her misery but yet remains