We know that the happy man by the lake is in mortal danger. He has no idea, which makes our fear for him even greater. This is the literary device known as foreshadowing. One of the most celebrated examples of it is the famous beginning of One Hundred Years of Solitude. “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad…” When we as readers know what the character can’t know, we want to warn them. Run, Anne Frank, they will discover your hiding place tomorrow. As I think about that last carefree night, the shadow of the future falls across my memory. But I can’t warn myself. Too late for that. I
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