In the novel Wieland, or the Transformation by Charles Brockden Brown the word “calamity” is used numerous times in the text as a foreshadowing device. The word is used in strategic places in the novel that lead up to major plot points. First, it the word calamity and it variations stuck out among the rest of the diction because the author had an extensive vocabulary so it was odd that he would repeat one word. It cannot be an accident that Brown used one word so many times because there are many other words he could have used instead such as: tragedy, cataclysm, catastrophe, misfortune, hardship, and disaster, just to name a few. It was also clever of the author to not only use calamity before a major point in the plot of the novel but he was able to insert the word casually and it is something that would only stick out to someone who was paying attention. This could mean that he wanted his foreshadowing to occur subtly. When the reader notices the word they feel that something big is going to happen but the since calamity can be predicting or describing a large variety of events the reader can’t easily guess what is going to happen. Moreover, it was significant that the author always seemed to use some form of the word calamity before something important happened in the text and combined with bigger passages …show more content…
Right before Clara learns about the murders of her nieces and nephews she uses “calamity” (Brown 152) in reference to finding her sister dead. Another noteworthy scene is after Clara becomes aware of her brother’s crimes she wants to talk to him in his prison cell before she moves to Europe because she doesn’t want to leave her, “…brother in calamity…” (Brown 179) without hearing his side of the story. Although she knew of his crimes it was right after she said she wanted to talk to him that she found out that he wanted to kill her