Opposite of foreshadowing

Hi,
In a literature context, what is the name given to the opposite of foreshadowing.

I am studying 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote, and there is a paragraph in the second chapter where the bodies of the Clutter family are being viewed. Capote talks about Nancy's "red-cherry velvet dress," which is alluded to previously in the novel.

It does seem like a flashback but my teacher said that is not the correct word and there is more specific terminology for this.

I hope you can help me out. Thank you.

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Reply 1

username1097550

7

I haven't read this novel myself- I feel a little more context might be needed in order to work out the correct term.

Is it that here, the dress is an echo of a past time in her life?

xoxo

Reply 2

RunningInHeels

OP

1

Original post by enfantsauvage

I haven't read this novel myself- I feel a little more context might be needed in order to work out the correct term.

Is it that here, the dress is an echo of a past time in her life?

xoxo

Sorry, I don't think I've made myself clear enough.

Yes, in Chapter 1 we see Nancy going about her nightly routine and she lays down her Sunday best on a chair in the corner. The quote is "it was the dress she would be buried in." Which isn't foreshadowing exactly, as the narrative voice says it quite bluntly.

Then in chapter 2, we see Nancy's body and she is wearing the same dress. Which perhaps brings the reader back to what they read in the first part? Especially as the narrative voice has such a powerful intonation when that particulate phrase (about the dress being the one she was going to be buried in) is so powerful.

I have used trusty old Google for some help, and so far the answers have been:
Flashback (which apparently is incorrect) aftermath and unprophetic.

If any of those words are right and make sense to you, could you define them too?

Thanks for your helps so far! :cool:

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Reply 3

Lynndenial

1

This is kind of a confusing question! :P

I think what might help is if you give some sort of idea of how you're planning to use this word, and what point you're going to make with it. Don't worry about the terminology for now, but just explain your ideas - there might be a way of getting around the word, or finding what you're really trying to talk about. At this point I can't actually think what you're going to say about it!

Reply 4

luke2511

Is it not just repetition, maybe a motif?

Reply 5

Thatstudentdude

14

Original post by RunningInHeels

Sorry, I don't think I've made myself clear enough.

Yes, in Chapter 1 we see Nancy going about her nightly routine and she lays down her Sunday best on a chair in the corner. The quote is "it was the dress she would be buried in." Which isn't foreshadowing exactly, as the narrative voice says it quite bluntly.

Then in chapter 2, we see Nancy's body and she is wearing the same dress. Which perhaps brings the reader back to what they read in the first part? Especially as the narrative voice has such a powerful intonation when that particulate phrase (about the dress being the one she was going to be buried in) is so powerful.

I have used trusty old Google for some help, and so far the answers have been:
Flashback (which apparently is incorrect) aftermath and unprophetic.

If any of those words are right and make sense to you, could you define them too?

Thanks for your helps so far! :cool:

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I can't think of any term to really describe this if your teacher has said it isn't a 'flashback.' How about a backwards reference? Anaphoric Reference (although I think that might be disputable depending on how the book words the quotes)? Normally people would just speak about events in the chronological way, so they use the term foreshadowing, rather than doing it the other way round and describing the event and then the subtle hints about what was to come.

Reply 6

RunningInHeels

OP

1

Original post by Lynndenial

This is kind of a confusing question! :P

I think what might help is if you give some sort of idea of how you're planning to use this word, and what point you're going to make with it.

Sorry, I do realise it may be difficult. The question about the particular bit was: what is the effect and how does Capote create it?

I've written: it feels as though the Clutter family themselves have become as hypothetical as the investigation, as they are not talked about as people anymore but as victims of a murder. The description of Nancy's "cherry-red velvet dress" alludes to a previous chapter, which reminds the reader that this was a character they had gotten to know. Through this [insert correct word here] Capote evokes sentimentality.

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Reply 7

RunningInHeels

OP

1

Original post by luke2511

Is it not just repetition, maybe a motif?

I'm not sure! What is a motif?

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Reply 8

RunningInHeels

OP

1

@thatstudentdude

I thought that anaphoric references were used in a non-literary context? Maybe that is the word if it applied to literature too.

Thank you

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Reply 9

scindapsus95

13

Original post by RunningInHeels

@thatstudentdude

I thought that anaphoric references were used in a non-literary context? Maybe that is the word if it applied to literature too.

Thank you

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I think you can use that terminology it all contexts :smile:

Reply 10

RunningInHeels

OP

1

Original post by leannesagoodman

I think you can use that terminology it all contexts :smile:

Just looked it up online and it is mainly used in a linguistic context. In a literary context it is basically a rhetoric.

I was going to ask the teacher today but college was shut down because of snow.

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Reply 11

RunningInHeels

OP

1

Original post by luke2511

Is it not just repetition, maybe a motif?

Looked up motif and that seems to be a repeated thematic element as opposed to something specific.

Thank you anyway though!

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Reply 12

scindapsus95

13

Original post by RunningInHeels

Just looked it up online and it is mainly used in a linguistic context. In a literary context it is basically a rhetoric.

I was going to ask the teacher today but college was shut down because of snow.

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The snow is annoying. I mean, I like it, but I was actually looking forward to college today for once.

In that case though I think our teacher must have taught it to us slightly differently. We've been told to use it in a literary context for a play we're doing, but I guess it might depend on the exam board.

Reply 13

WiccanRavenclaw

Original post by RunningInHeels

Hi,
In a literature context, what is the name given to the opposite of foreshadowing.

I am studying 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote, and there is a paragraph in the second chapter where the bodies of the Clutter family are being viewed. Capote talks about Nancy's "red-cherry velvet dress," which is alluded to previously in the novel.

It does seem like a flashback but my teacher said that is not the correct word and there is more specific terminology for this.

I hope you can help me out. Thank you.

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...Backlighting?

~~Sorry I couldn't resist.~~

Reply 14

RunningInHeels

OP

1

Original post by WiccanRavenclaw

...Backlighting?

Hahaha, my teacher called it "backshadowing" because he couldn't remember the word. You're not alone WiccanRavenclaw!

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Reply 15

RunningInHeels

OP

1

@leannesagoodman

Yeah me too, I have double Philosophy on Fridays! Love it. The whole of England just comes to a halt when a small amount of snow hits the road. We can't cope with a turn in the weather.

I'm doing English Languge & Literature, WJEC board. How about you?

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Reply 16

Lynndenial

1

Original post by RunningInHeels

Sorry, I do realise it may be difficult. The question about the particular bit was: what is the effect and how does Capote create it?

I've written: it feels as though the Clutter family themselves have become as hypothetical as the investigation, as they are not talked about as people anymore but as victims of a murder. The description of Nancy's "cherry-red velvet dress" alludes to a previous chapter, which reminds the reader that this was a character they had gotten to know. Through this [insert correct word here] Capote evokes sentimentality.

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Hmm. It's kind of a vague point to make.

1) I think maybe it might help if you hone in on the description itself, and forget about trying to find this word. That is, the choices the author made in describing it - velvet, and cherry-red are quite distinct adjectives (particularly the colour red), and the fact Capote repeated it in the second chapter makes her character stand out. The questions to be thinking about are about why he makes her so distinct rather than just make her some lady who died. Why is she important to the overall plot? I haven't read this text, so I can't say, but presumably her death propels other events into happening?

2) Also, saying the family has become as 'hypothetical' as the investigation - kind of a clunky sentence I'm afraid :frown:

3) You say they were described as 'victims of a murder', could you provide some evidence from the text for that?

4) Evoking 'sentimentality' is sort of an odd way to put it, too. Do you mean in the reader? Is one chapter really enough to care about this woman - maybe so, but maybe what the author was trying to do was to make the character memorable for some reason (because of her importance to the overall plot) not necessarily to make the readers care about her. There's a difference.

Just some questions to think about :P Sorry, I guess I sort of went a bit overboard with your paragraph there! Obviously you don't have to take everything I said on board if you don't want to, but those are my thoughts.

Reply 17

TheUbermensche

2

Why don't you just call it an extended motif/extended metaphor?

Reply 18

RunningInHeels

OP

1

@Lynndenial,

Don't worry about over analysing. The way my class goes through the text is a bit strange, I don't feel like I know exactly what to write sometimes, so I highly appreciate everything you've written! Is is because A Level is more self-motivated and you have to do all the work yourself?

Thank you so much for your help!

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