Foreshadowing In Tom Godwin's The Cold Equation

Beautiful young girls need protection, beautiful young girls need rescue, beautiful young girls aren't killed... These biases are shared throughout western culture and confronted in Tom Godwin’s short story, “The Cold Equations.” This tale takes place in space, nature’s most unforgiving environment, where every mistake has grave consequences. Barton, an EDS pilot, finds a stowaway while he's on his way to deliver medical supplies to a group of fever-stricken men on the planet Woden. However, when he discovers the fugitive is a young girl in her teens, he begins to question the normal procedure; having the stowaway “jettisoned immediately upon discovery” (1). The pilot and Godwin express there is nothing that can be done to save Marilyn, however

The author uses intense imagery like, “...take the life of a man he had yet to meet.” (1) and dramatic words such as, “...a deep, slow breath, considering what he would have to do.” (1). The use of diction builds a suspenseful environment for the reader as it ignites curiosity in “...what he would have to do.” (1). But notice the word “have”. Even though there is suspense, nothing points to the possibility of Marylin being saved. (3). The innocent girl portrayed here is obviously not what the pilot expects when imagining a fugitive. The language, however fails to create a sense of hope even through Barton’s thoughts. For example, when he was reading a disk slowly to delay the “inevitable.” The captain trying to ease what he and the narrator obviously understand, seen through the pessimistic diction. All foreshadowing points towards her death, so why is there hope? It is through biases. With the story focusing on such tragic and hopeless word choice like on page 12, where Marilyn's brother exclaims “what have you done”, being described as “the cry of a man who calls hopeless and desperate.” The only place for hope to come from is the reader's mind, which ultimately shows their true biases towards certain