Question

How does the author of “A Modern Love Letter” create surprise? Cite examples of how the author’s choices in structuring the passage and the use of foreshadowing develop the element of surprise. Your response should be at least two complete paragraphs.

Answer 1

Foreshadowing is a literary device that consists in giving hints to the audience when an element of surprise is going to occur in the story so that the audience can deduce by themselves the event that is actually going to happen, this literary device adds emotion and entertainment to a story, and is often used in movies and plays.

In a Modern Love Letter (written by El Saadawi), the author uses foreshadowing several times throughout the story. When the grandmother mentions her first love named Alejandro and how he used to leave notes like the ones Isabella had found, the author is giving a hint, also known as foreshadowing, that the one that will show up in the park is Alejandro and not Mateo.

Another example of this literary device in A Modern Love Letter, is when Isabella mentions Mateo (Isabella's crush), and how she thinks Mateo is the one behind those notes because of the interactions she has had with him, so when he is the one that calls her the audience already knows about him and it creates surprise because Isabella thought her mom was calling.