The Rockpile

Foreshadowing is a hint to the reader of something that will come later in a story. It is used to create suspense or dramatic tension, and it can help orient a reader within a story, as it makes the reader anticipate certain outcomes.

In “The Rockpile,” Baldwin foreshadows Roy’s injuries by opening the story with a description of the rockpile itself. He writes that Roy and John believed it was a mysterious and forbidden space. As soon as the reader finds out that their mother told John and Roy but mostly Roy to not go to the rockpile, the reader can correctly assume that Roy will do so and that something bad will happen.

Baldwin also uses foreshadowing to describe the second threat facing the boys: Gabriel. Sister McCandless warns the Grimes that Gabriel is “going to raise cain” and seems to encourage that by telling Gabriel what happened on the stairs (21). The story hints at Gabriel’s violent past, and these unspoken threats foreshadow what is likely to happen. When an optical trick makes Elizabeth see John underneath Gabriel’s shoe, the violent outcome is foreshadowed again, but Elizabeth prevents it, subverting the reader’s expectations and making the foreshadowing fall short.