The Grandmother Foreshadowing Analysis

All the way through this short story there is a very evident theme of death and a notable presence of foreshadowing in regards to the fate of the family. Reading through the story the first time the forewarning is not as evident, however, upon the second read through there are items that stand out that can alert the reader to the impending doom of the family. The first theme that struck me was the color within the story, from the very beginning O’Connor puts great emphasis on colors. Green, orange, blue, gray, silver, white, and of course red. As the story progresses, there is less and less color, and all you are left with is red. I noticed the word red repeated several times within the story. Thankfully, I was using my kindle, and highlighted …show more content…
“They passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island.” There are five or six people in the car, depending on how you count the infant, who is not quite a whole person but still a human being. The number six is confirmed for the readers after Red Sammy’s when grandmother thinks back to another plantation. “She said the house had six white columns…”, and this section pushes on to reference woods and trees. Ultimately, the family becomes six white columns amongst some trees in the …show more content…
She gives some foreshadowing of her own in this story even though she is not a major character. The narrator gives the Mother this persona of a defeated, tired woman. She had a head kerchief tied around her head, and was wearing plain slacks both in the beginning and when heading on the road. She does not fight or interact much with the children, and is steadfast in her duties to her infant. Then upon the death of Bailey and her son, the Mother resigns her fight. When I think of a Mother I think of someone who would fight to the death to protect their children, but the Mother here simply goes to her death to join her husband, as if she is tired and welcomes the end. The Misfit directs his attention the Mother when she begins to breath heavily, “Lady, he asked, “would you and that little girls like to step off yonder with Bobby Lee and Hiram and join your husband?” “Yes, thank you,” the mother said faintly. Her left arm dangled helplessly…” O’Connor designed this short story to hold a bleak dark nature purposefully. The idea is to build up as much vision and tone as possible so that the reader gets the big shock at the end. Even though there is minimal writing, the influence the words have leave the reader as if they had just finished a thrilling