Never Let Me Go: 8

"What I didn't know at the time was that something pretty significant had happened" (92).

This quote foreshadows an anecdote to come. I was expecting it to be in chapter eight; however, it is not so all the more suspense it creates leading into chapter nine. The purpose of this foreshadowing is to lead the reader into what is coming next. Also, this foreshadowing precedes an interlude in which much is going on with the students at Hailsham. It seems that they have uncovered sex in a new way. Everyone is doing it, and if they aren't they feel like they are missing something. This new experience for them ties into the foreshadowing of what happened between Miss Lucy and Tommy. The new sex craze relates because their are significant things happening in all of their lives because the majority of them are hooking up and are confused as to if it is something the guardians want or are warning them against. Either way, it is happening left and right, or so people say. The foreshadowing above is effective because it gives just a hint of what is to come before switching topics, leaving a hint of curiousity about what happened with Tommy in the back of readers's minds, while they are distracted by the onset of the sex craze. I for one was led to believe that what had happened involved sex, but thus far it does not seem this way. Hopefully this remains true and even though they should not be engaging in sex at this age (and it should not be condoned by the guardians), they really should not be engaging in it with the guardians. The foreshadowings purpose is to draw in curiousity and capture the readers attention for what is coming next, even if it is not what the readers expect and the thing being forshadowed is later on in the plot.