Foreshadowing: Jim Williams
“…I keep pistols in
strategic places. There's a Luger in the rear library, another in a desk drawer
in my office, a third in the Irish linen press in the hall, and a Smith and
Wesson in the living room. I've also got a shotgun and three or four rifles
upstairs. The pistols are loaded.
‘That's four loaded pistols,’ I
said.
‘There's a risk, I know. But
I'm a gambler’” (Berendt 21).
I think that this quote shows
foreshadowing. Although Berendt’s book is technically classified as nonfiction
(and even this is debated), he makes use of several techniques commonly seen in
novels, one of which is foreshadowing. The above quote discusses how Jim Williams
keeps many (loaded) guns in his house for protection. However, based on what
the readers see of Savannah, this is not entirely necessary. For example, Joe
Odom never shuts the doors to his residence. Even if a firearm deterrent were
needed, one or two guns would be plenty. Since Jim Williams has all of these
guns in his house, the chances that he will use a gun at least some point in
the story seems likely. In addition, Williams admits that it is a risk, but he
is a gambler. Unfortunately, a gambler will eventually run out of luck. Due to
all of this, I think that there will be a tragic accident involving Jim
Williams and his gun(s) somewhere later on in the story.
Does anyone agree or disagree
with my opinion? In addition, since the book is “nonfiction”, do you think this
part of the book is germane to today’s debates about gun control?
Donna Kwon:
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the foreshadowing. Without expressly altering facts, by drawing attention to certain details, the author is setting up the audience in a manner that would ease them into what will actually happen in the future. After the murder, people will be able to look back on this portion of the novel and think, "Wow, he paid the price for this risk," which is cool because it was mentioned earlier in the novel. However, this is a technique that can only be done with the benefit of hindsight. After all, the author wouldn't have been able to point out important or significant aspects if he hadn't known which ones would end up being important or significant.
The insane amount of guns could just be more character development. Every character that is described in the novel has their own set of unique characteristics. Not one is "normal" by our definition. This is someone with a lot more to lose than most people, so the guns could be additional security. In a town where everyone is crazy, he wouldn't fit in without his own set of quirks. I'd also like to point out that this novel is technically a journal of a true event. To have met with a character with such a quirk and then have him be the murderer would be very convenient. While it is entirely possible that this is foreshadowing, it could just as easily be Berendt describing the craziness of a character, like he does with other characters.
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