Landscape with Invisible Hand

A device that hints at future events, called foreshadowing, enhances interest in a text. Anderson uses both blatant and subtle foreshadowing to connect the scenes and chapters. Direct foreshadowing includes Adam’s statement addressing the disillusionment of romance in his relationship with Chloe: “Needless to say, 1950s-dating someone you live with is a huge mistake” (36), which is the final line of Chapter 11, “My House in Early Fall (Watercolor on paper).” Likewise, the final line of Chapter 6, “My House in Winter,” uses direct foreshadowing: “A year and a half later, I still don’t know what it means to ‘be a man.’ But I do know what it means to be a coward” (18). While direct, this instance of foreshadowing is also misleading. It suggests that Mr. Costello has died by suicide, which is the assumption his family makes; however, the text later reveals that he deserted his family. Subtle foreshadowing is seen in the painting of the man shot with arrows, in which Adam paints a house on a cliff in the background. He tells Chloe, “That’s where I want to be. Away from where things happen” (33). The house foretells the ending of the book, when Adam and his family move to the mountains, away from the busy areas of Earth. This instance of subtle foreshadowing enhances the literary value of the text rather than creating tension to drive interest.