Examples Of Foreshadowing In Huckleberry Finn

Foreshadowing is the final literary device that I am pulling from the novel and I consider it to be the heaviest used. The entire prologue could be considered foreshadowing if it was not so blunt in its description of the murder of a major character on the very first line. Instead, the two major moments of foreshadowing come in the scene of the actual death itself. Tartt already informed the reader at the beginning of the story that Bunny will die by being pushed off of a cliff into a ravine but there are a few select things about Bunny that he either says or has pointed out: “He had a bottle of beer—a Rolling Rock, funny I remember that—and he turned it up and took a long, gurgling pull” (268); “Bunny gave him a long, hard look. ‘Jesus,’ he

To me, the reason why it is so useful is that it is convincing. The book is written in first-person and told from Richard Papen’s point of view, a young man who is quite possibly as average a single human being could possibly become. Having a relatively bland narrator using first person allows the reader to take his place instead: reading personal pronouns allows the audience to insert themselves into his place. Now they are no longer simply reading a novel but they are instead immersed in Greek prose and allowed in with the elite. They are convinced much in the same way that Richard is through dumb luck and a fierce loyalty to his lies and to his corrupt friends. Towards the beginning, Bunny is presented as a man so sweet that he earned the nickname and could not possibly be the one hurtling towards death at a rapid clip, and by the time he falls over the cliff the reader will breathe a sigh of relief to know that he is gone for good. Charles morphs from benevolent yet slightly tipsy friend into a raging drunkard hellbent on killing Henry who he blames for ruining his life, perfectly complemented by Henry attempting to kill Charles before any further harm can come to Camilla or anyone else. Tartt writes this novel in a way that allows you to be included into personal thoughts regarding the

It is a piece of fiction so unique that it deserves to have its very own category forged in its name. Not anthologizing this work would be a loss of skilled writing, shown through the lessons, literary devices, and ability to shift the reader’s perspective about the characters so subtly it is barely noticeable. The value in the novel can only truly be understood when read. I find it remarkable because it is so powerful that I find myself being drawn to it every time I finish a new book because I know there is something new that I will find hidden in the writing: another new metaphor I skimmed over last time, a new hint of foreshadowing, or simply just a new joke that I find amusing. If it were to be anthologized, then it would allow a new audience to come together to piece apart this literary masterpiece. It deserves to be debated, and it deserves to be remembered, not only for the pure skill that Donna Tartt shows how well-crafted the novel is but in how compelling every single line proves itself to be. This book deserves to be remembered