The Effective Literary Form of Foreshadowing

OConnor effectively uses the literary widget of foreshadowing to create an atmosphere of suspense for a family that is doomed. There are several hints that point to the mass of the family in both(prenominal) the over every theme of a world of change and chaos and in precise lines from the text. Death and doom are frequently discussed and certain descriptive phrases, as early as the premiere sentence lead a reader to believe that doom is impending. Specifically the grandmother and her choices and her description of choices all contri howevere to the foreshadowing.Her choice of dress and her reasons given for that is one example, as is the vomit she chooses to bring and the animals role in the final event that leads to the death of the family. The Grandmothers choice to take the scandal road and her mistake of direction is the final example of the foreshadowing that can be contributed to the readers sense of an almost inevitable and negative end. Firstly, the Grandmother does no t wish to go on the trip, but agrees to go with certain pretenses. She refuses to leave her beloved cat at home while the family goes on their trip.The cat, Pitty whistle, is hidden in a basket as the Grandmother fears that the cat may die. OConnor writes, she was mysophobic he might brush against one of the gas burners and throwally asphyxiate himself. Her son, Bailey didnt like to total at a motel with a cat (1135-1136). Her mention of both death and the inconvenience that bringing the cat would impose on the family line of battles both foreshadowing and irony, as the cat does cause an accident and inconveniences the family in the hit way.Both the concealed cat displayed by OConnor as the Grandmothers disregard for her familys wishes and her garbled sense of direction, as well contribute to the danger that the family is placed in. The dirt road that the Grandmother advises the family to go down is explained in detail in an sullen manner and the plot turns even more ominous as she realizes that she has the wrong road. OConnor writes regarding the character that a horrible thought came to herher eyes dilated and her feet jumped up the bit the valise moved, the newspaper top she had over the basket rose with a snarl and Pitty Sing, the cat, sprang onto Baileys shoulder (1140). This sequent does lead to a car accident on this abandoned, old road. Therefore, both the choice to bring the dim animal and the choice to take the family in a wrong direction, sends a message of a foreshadowed and foreshortened time to come for the family.Finally, at the beginning of the story, when the cat is introduced into the plot, the Grandmothers deception and dress are detailed. The foreshadowing of her check and accessories point to the fact that she has designed herself for death, in case that it comes. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accid ent, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady (1136).It should be noted that the idea or phrase of the word accident or accidental is used frequently in the story to show foreshadowing. In the citation with the cat and the uproar, there follows an automobile accident, where after the children scream several times both on pages 1140 and 1141, Weve had an ACCIDENT . The foreshadowing of the usage of accident is only paralleled by the actions leading to the familys doom.In conclusion, OConnor effectively uses examples of foreshadowing in A Good Man is Hard to Find. Three of these examples enlarge this in the previous paragraphs and all tie in together to help the reader and literary dilettante understand that the story has deeper meaning and context than one may originally think. The frequent reference to accident or fear that something may happen accidentally all contribute to the undertones and overtones of death, deception, and doom in a world of cha nge and chaos.