1、英语短篇小说教程英语短篇小说教程Short Stories in English:A Reading CourseUnit SixFlashback and ForeshadowingReading:“The Swing”by Mary Gavell For example,a short story may begin with a funeral,and then goes back into the past life of the dead person to unfold,stage by stage,his personal history and to provide glimp
2、ses of what had made him the person that he was.In such a case,the main body of the fictional work is constructed on a series of flashbacks.Foreshadowing(1):Foreshadowing means the introduction early in a story of situations,events,objects or characters that will reveal themselves as things or perso
3、ns of importance later in the fiction.In all cases,the purpose of foreshadowing is to prepare the reader for what is yet to happen.It is a device most often seen in detective stories as“clues.”An ordinary object,a chance remark or a seemingly trivial event could be of great significance if it is pla
4、nted intentionally by the author as foreshadowing of what occurs later in the fiction.Foreshadowing(2):Readers may not be immediately aware of the existence of a particular foreshadowing,but as the story develops,its role becomes apparent in the relationship of things.In the process of discovering t
5、he relationship and the significance that such relationship reveals,readers grow increasingly involved as they see the likelihood of a particular outcome.Foreshadowing(3):Foreshadowing applies primarily to plot,as a significant later event is prepared for by information provided earlier.A minor epis
6、ode may foreshadow a major later one.A subplot often parallels and may foreshadow a main plot.A dialogue may suggest a later action.A symbol early in a story may sow the seed of understanding for the end.Examples of flashback.What thematic functions do they play?lThe swing was suspended from so high
7、,and its arc was so wide,that riding in it was like sailing through the air with the leisurely swoop of a wheeling bird.One seemed to travel from one horizon to the other.And how proud Julius had been of it when Jamie was old enough to swing in it,and the neighborhood children had stood around to ad
8、mire and be given a turn,for there was no other swing like it.(“The Swing,”lines 38-42)lThey did go home by the river road,and it seemed very long;she was a little depressed,as she often was when she returned from Jamess house.(“The Swing.”lines 75-76)Examples of foreshadowing.What thematic function
9、 do they play?lThe Consular Service is ill paid,and she was dressed always very simply;but she knew how to wear her clothes.(“Mr.Know-All,”lines 111-112)lMrs.Ramsay in her modest way flushed a little and slipped the chain inside her dress.(“Mr.Know-All,”lines 138-139-)lAs she grew old,she began to d
10、ream again.She had not dreamed much in her middle years;or,if she had,the busyness of her days,converging on her the moment she awoke,had pushed her dreams right out of her head (“The Swing,”lines 1-3)The Story :Mary Gavell The SwingReading Tips:There is a phenomenon called“empty nest syndrome”（空巢综合
11、症）,a condition of depression that affects parents after their children leave home.This story is about an aging mother troubled by feelings of emptiness,loss and loneliness.Yet somehow,she begins to have mysterious reunions with her seven-year-old boy,night after night,summoned by the creaking sound
12、of an old swing and enjoys warm and hearty conversations with her son of thirty years earlier.The beginning sentence of the story foreshadows the direction of interpretation of the whole story which is composed of a lot of flashbacks-memories of the past life.Questions for Discussion:lWhat is the si
13、gnificance of the opening sentence“As she grew old,she began to dream again”?Is it only the old age that causes the mother to dream and daydream more often now?lWhat is it about Julius,the husband,that annoys the wife?Is he an annoying person?Why do you think he behaves the way he does?Does he under
14、stand her emotional situation?lIn one of the flashbacks,there is description of one of the Sunday dinners at the adult sons home.How is the mother-son conversation different from her talks with her boy on the swing?lHow do you explain the jacket hanging on the nail?The Magic Realism:There is a kind of fiction that we call“magic realism,”in which the fantastic,absurd or impossible elements are included in a narrative that is mainly objective and realistic.
