Analyzing Foreshadowing in "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Seventh Man"
In this assignment, you will read excerpts from two short stories: "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell and "The Seventh Man" by Haruki Murakami. You will answer scaffolded questions to help you analyze how each author uses foreshadowing to build suspense and hint at future events. After analyzing each text, you will write an extended constructed response that explains the role of foreshadowing in both stories, using specific evidence from the texts to support your answer.
Group 1
Read the excerpt from the beginning of "The Most Dangerous Game." Answer the following questions about foreshadowing in this passage.
Source 1.1
Off there to the right—somewhere—is a large island," said Whitney. "It's rather a mystery—" "What island is it?" Rainsford asked. "The old charts call it 'Ship-Trap Island,'" Whitney replied. "A suggestive name, isn't it? Sailors have a curious dread of the place. I don't know why. Some superstition—" "Can't see it," remarked Rainsford, trying to peer through the dank tropical night that was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness in upon the yacht.
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell, paragraphs 1-4.
Question 1a
What is the effect of describing the island as 'Ship-Trap Island' and saying that sailors have a 'curious dread' of it? How does this hint at what might happen later in the story?
Question 1b
Identify one word or phrase from the excerpt that creates a sense of mystery or danger. Explain how this word or phrase serves as foreshadowing.
Group 2
Read the excerpt from the beginning of "The Seventh Man." Answer the following questions about foreshadowing in this passage.
Source 2.1
"A huge wave nearly swept me away," said the seventh man, almost whispering. "It happened one September afternoon when I was ten years old." ... "It was the biggest wave I had ever seen in my life," he said. "A strange wave. An absolute giant." He paused. "It just barely missed me, but in my place it swallowed everything that mattered most to me and swept it off to another world. I took years to find it again and to recover from the experience—precious years that can never be replaced."
"The Seventh Man" by Haruki Murakami, paragraphs 1-6.
Question 2a
What clues in this passage suggest that something tragic or life-changing is about to happen? Identify at least one word or phrase that serves as foreshadowing.
Question 2b
How does the author’s description of the wave and the seventh man’s reaction to it build suspense for the reader?
Group 3
Now that you have analyzed foreshadowing in both stories, you will write an extended constructed response. Use evidence from both texts to support your answer.
Question 3a
Foreshadowing happens when the author provides clues in the text that hint at events that will happen later in the story. Explain the role foreshadowing plays in the plots of "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Seventh Man." Write a well-organized informational composition that uses specific evidence from both stories to support your answer.
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