Transcript Suspense and Foreshadowing

Suspense and
Foreshadowing
Freak the Mighty – Chapters 18-20
Plot Structure Review
Suspense
• Suspense is the uneasy, anxious
feeling a reader gets when they do
not know what is going to happen
next.
Examples:
•The feeling you get when you start to
hear the Jaws theme music—you know
something bad is going to happen, but
you aren’t sure what.
•The feeling you get when it seems
certain that the protagonist will
die and you don’t know how he’ll escape.
How Do Authors Build
Suspense?
• Slow Down the Passage of Time
– The action of the story is slowed down and every action
is explained clearly, not leaving any detail to the
imagination. This prolonging of the action makes the
reader acutely aware of everything that is happening.
• Example: Lord of the Rings scene.
How Do Authors Build
Suspense?
• Challenges or Choices for Characters
– The characters are faced with a difficult situation or
must make a difficult choice. Suspense is created as the
character prolongs that choice.
• Example: Aladdin – What is his third and final wish going to be?
Is he going to tell Jasmine the truth? Etc.
How Do Authors Build
Suspense?
• Tension is Created
– The author slowly introduce events that could potentially
lead to peril for the characters.
• Example:
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3.
4.
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6.
The scene shows a car full of teenagers driving a reckless speeds through
a neighborhood with the music blaring.
A child is seen playing with a ball in his yard.
The teens are shown again. The driver loses focus and swerves to miss a
mailbox.
The child’s ball rolls into the street.
The teens’ car, turning a corner on two wheels,
starts down the road where the child is playing.
The child chases his ball into the street.
How Do Authors Build
Suspense?
• The Element of Surprise
– The characters are going about their business and
everything is fine, when BAM! Something terrible
happens.
• Example:
– Sears Commercial
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5obM4W3QVAI
Foreshadowing
• Foreshadowing is the author’s leaving hints or
clues to suggests events that will occur later in
a work of literature.
• Writers use foreshadowing to build their
readers’ expectations and to create suspense.
– Example: A weapon found in a drawer early in a
story might foreshadow a future crime in the
story.
Freak the Mighty
• As you read the climax of the story today, pay
attention to how the author creates suspense.
• Also think about what previous events in the
novel may have foreshadowed this happening.
(You may want to look through previous
chapters to find the clues and what hinted
towards this event.)