Foreshadowing - in which a certain image or event may hint at something that becomes more significant later on in the story.
Authors often use different literary devices to grab the reader's attention, or to establish basis for plot development later on in the novel. In Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Melville uses the literary device of foreshadowing to allow the audience to be aware of Billy's inevitable fate before the characters in the novel, thus creating a feeling of suspense within the novel.
In chapter one, the incident with the Red Whiskers (12) functions as a foreshadowing of Billy's confrontation with Claggart. This is very similar to what happens later between John Claggart and Billy (58). Melville uses the incident to show that although Billy Budd is a gentle man, unwilling to quarrel, he can become aggressive if provoked. This makes the later incident more believable, since the reader has already seen Billy behaving in this way.
Red-Whiskered Bulbul
Uppman as Britten's Billy Budd in 1951.
English: Signed photographic portrait of Herman Me...The Red Whiskers is similar to Claggart in a number of significant ways. Like Claggart, the Red Whiskers dislikes Billy, and out of sheer envy he "bestirs" himself to pick a fight with Billy.
Melville begins using foreshadowing early in the novel when he describes Billy Budd as a tall handsome sailor that was well adored by mostly all who knew him. Melville makes Billy seems flawless until he informs the audience using straight, matter of fact sentences that Billy has a speech impediment that only seems to rear its ugly head whenever Billy has something of importance to say (17). The fact that Billy's speech impediment only shows when he has something significant to say helps inform the audience that something of significant importance will happen later on in the novel (57). Billy's inability to speak during times of emotion will...