Thursday, October 1, 2009

What are two instances of foreshadowing in the final four paragraphs of chapter 27 in To Kill a Mockingbird?

The first instance of foreshadowing in Chapter 27 is when Aunt Alexandra is telling Scout that she is too tired to go to her Halloween play. Aunt Alexandra stops in the middle of her sentence and says, "somebody just walked over my grave." This phrase has origins that trace back to the 18th century and it means that someone gets a chill, similar to goosebumps. In this instance, Aunt Alexandra says it as she feels a sense of apprehension about the play, perhaps indicating that she does not feel comfortable with Jem and Scout going unaccompanied. The second instance of foreshadowing is the last sentence in the chapter. Jem agrees to take Scout to the play, and she notes, "thus began our longest journey together." This indicates that some large and important event is to come. Together, these two examples of foreshadowing at the end of Chapter 27 reveal that some sort of tragic or tumultuous event is going to happen soon. By the end of the book, it is obvious that the event that was being foreshadowed was the attack on Scout and Jem after the play. 

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