OTHER ELEMENTS

FORESHADOWING

There are several literary devices that pop up at various times in the story. One of the most prevalent ones is foreshadowing which frequently presents clues of something that will happen later in the novel. Some examples of foreshadowing include:

1. Even though there are no monuments dedicated to Noah, and his name will eventually be forgotten, he is unique in that he has loved another with all his heart and soul and that has always been enough. This foreshadows the love story that is about to unfold.

2. There he goes again. I hope it turns out well. These words are spoken by the nurses at the home and foreshadow Noah's determination to pull Allie out of her fog.

3. Allie wonders if she has made the right decision in coming to New Bern. This foreshadows her terrible dilemma in choosing between Lon and Noah.

4. Allie pulls a folded-up piece of newspaper from her pocketbook. This foreshadows the article about Noah's house that draws her back to him.

5. There is something about Allie that Lon just can't put his finger on. He knows that something was said, but he just isn't sure what it was. This unsettling feeling foreshadows Lon's desperate attempt to win Allie back.

6. Lon is meeting with the defense lawyer and the judge in the judge's chambers. He has asked the judge for permission to adjourn the trial until Monday. His reason is personal, and the defense attorney agrees, because Lon has agreed to reopen discussion on a matter not covered by that proceeding. The judge doesn't like it, but he agrees since Lon has never asked for such permission before. Two minutes later, Lon is leaving the courthouse and heading for New Bern, his hands shaking. This foreshadows a showdown between him and Noah for Allie's love.

7. In the final chapter, Noah tells the reader that soon he will reveal some secrets of his own. This foreshadows that Allie chose him but their lives at the end of forty-nine years is disrupted by the tragedy of Allie's illness.

8. Noah knows that soon, it will be all over, but Allie does not know this. This foreshadows the end when they are finally and happily together again.

9. For a moment, just inside Allie's room, Noah shivers, because the air in the room is stale, and he thinks it's their tomb. This foreshadows the probably end of the story.

IRONY

Another important element is irony - when something happens, or is seen, or is heard that we may know, but the characters do not, or that appears opposite of what is expected. Some examples of irony include:

1. Ironically, as Allie is driving over the drawbridge less than four minutes later, Lon calls from the courthouse. He just misses his chance to convince her to stay with him.

2. Allie drives by people going about their everyday lives in spite of the quandary that Allie finds herself in.

3. Once back at the inn, Allie looks out the window of her car and sees that the clouds are clearing and it's going to be a beautiful day. It is the kind of day that she would have liked to spend with Noah. And yet she is going back to face her fiancé whom she believes will take her home with him.

4. How would it feel, Noah wonders, to be always together, yet forever apart? He finds it ironic that Allie chose to read his letter at the exact moment that that question had popped into his head. It is ironic, because now he knows what it's like to be day and night now; always together, forever apart.