An infinite way
There is a saying in the world of Storytelling: There is an infinite way to tell a story. If that's true for the way we create stories, that's ironically also true for the way we analyse them.
Take this word for example: "foreshadowing". Well, type it on google and I can bet you will find there at least three different definitions, with elements in contradiction with one another. In finite, that is not a problem as all those definition are analysing a similar range of tools, but when we need precision like I do with this theory, this is not enough.
What I will do here, is clean a little bit the field, redefine some concepts, give a little bit of precision for others, and try to give you a simple guide to understand how "plantings" work in a story.
What is "planting"anyway?
Planting, in narration, is the action of "planting" a seed, a specific element, in a story, with the purpose of developping it into a whole new element later.
Plantings rest on the principle that each action has an effect.
In storytelling (which include all form of story crafting) a planting can take multiple forms.
Missunderstood concepts
One of the form that can take a planting is the foreshadowing. You may have heard about this before, as it is one of the favourite words of One Piece theorists. Sadly, this concept is most often missunderstood and I won't lie, I participated to this as everyone else. But this has to stop, at least for us to get through this theory with clarity. So, what are and what are not "foreshadowings"?
The Forshadowing (also called setup and payoff) is a storytelling technique that consist in suggesting the future of the story (the pay Off) with the help of a setup, a element in the story. It can be many things, from dialogues or objects to settings.
For example, this panel from chapter 823 is a little foreshadowing adressing the future of the current crew. We know Luffy never cooks so we are left surprised and exited for that specific action.
Of course Luffy doesn't know how to cook so this little setup will payoff in a tromendous amount of peripeteia: The starvation of the crew / The hunt for a fish / Luffy being poisoinned etc.
Careful though! A foreshadowing is not a Red Herring nor it is chekov's gun.
A Red Herring is also a planting but the opposite of a foreshadowing. It's a technique that consist in introducing an element in a story as a setup only to divert the attention of the audience, without a pay off. Those are often used in detective stories when we need multiple suspects.
Chekov's gun, on the other hand, is a rule that states that every element in a story must be necessary and irrelevant elements should be removed. It is derived from an idea of Anton Chekhov (A russian playwright), that if a gun is placed in a scene, it must at some point be used.
In short, a foreshadowing is a technique, Chekov's gun is a rule. It is also noteworthy that all foreshadowing must obey this rule. If not, they can become Red Herrings.
Hints/Clews... Those are not foreshadowings! A foreshadowing is a planting. It must serve the story. A foreshadowing must setup a storytelling fact and ease the impact of the payoff. Hints does not do that. They are just here as a subtle wink from the author, they are not here to serve the story. That is why clews and hints are NOT foreshadowings! Example of hints: - The Kozuki Crest on the cover page of chapter 310
- The mention of the Sun God during the story
(Notes that most "hints" found by the fanbase on coverpages are baseless hypothesis. I'm thinking for example about the numerology Oda would hint us with)
Let's go deeper
Before analysing the last type of planting I will dig a little bit deeper into the world of foreshadowings. Much like a spectrum, foreshadowing are separated into two groups : direct foreshadowing and indirect ones. in each of those "range" we can find different type of foreshadowing: Direct foreshadowing: This range regroup the most obvious foreshadowings, those are the foreshadowings that let very few place for imagination. They are also the one that are the most visible in the story. They can be:
Dialogue statement: Made by the characters themselves. The panel from chapter 823 ("I'll cook") that we analysed earlier was a direct foreshadowing.
Prophecies: Made by characters or the narrator, prophecies are also direct foreshadowings. The prophecy from Sharley stating that Luffy will destroy fishmen Island is a direct foreshadowing.
Statement from the narrator: When the narrator explain what will happen in the future. The prediction of the narrator in chapter 800 regarding the strawhat grand fleet is a great of that direct foreshadowing.
Indirect foreshadowing: This range regroup the less obvious foreshadowings. Those are the little clews along the way, the little mysteries that give the writer to his audience to create his world. They are also less visible in the story. They can be:
The lyer of truth: I made this categorie specifically for One Piece and Usopp. Usopp lies are close to prophecie, but they can be so subtle we don't notice them. They are on the fine line between direct and indirect foreshadowings. The only reason the lyer of truth is not a "hint" is because the story allows us to understand that each Usopp's prophecies are bound to become true. They can therefore be considered as setups.
Subtle dialogue remarks: Those indirect foreshadowings are most often the result of an action or a situation. For example in chapter 805, Wanda tells Luffy that he should be grateful that it was not a moonlit night. This foreshadow the Sulong transformation of the mink 83 chapters later.
Shift of setting: When they are done well those indirect foreshadowing blends perfectly in the story. Most of the time, they are changes in the environment, like a storm approaching and foreshadowing a strong climax. A good shift of setting has an impact on the story. You can find them during the battle of Onigashima, with the could and the moon.
Reminders: Those indirect foreshadowing are a repetition of a previous foreshadowing in another way. For example, there are three reminders for the Sulong transformation. The last one being in chapter 886. Their role is to "remind" you of an element.
You may have guessed it. The more a foreshadowing blends into the story, the better it's impact on the revelation. But it doesn't mean that we can't play with direct foreshadowing either.. Observe the story of One Piece, and you will find out that Eiichiro Oda is playing with a great range of foreshadowing to make his story organic.
Shadowings
At last, we are talking about the final "planting": the shadowing. Don't bother searching this word on internet, I made it up. You see, in my researchs, I found out that there was something missing in the definition of "planting" and that it was different from the regular foreshadowing..
You can see here that Shadowings are in the center of the "planting circle". They are the most subtle planting there is. The reason is simple: they are part of the foundamental construction of the narration, but unlike their counterpart (the foreshadowings), the shadowings does not hint the future, they prepare it to make it believable.
In regular stories and most of the time, you need to go back into the story to notice a shadowing. They most often revolve aroung the action of a character and they are necessary to keep the story organic.
Here are a few shadowings from chapter 1
Luffy stabbing himself. Oda needed that Luffy to be introduced has a reckless boy in order to make his future feats (like punching a cape full of pikes) feel natural for him. Because of this action Oda created a character who was not afraid of getting hurt at all.
Luffy eating meat in the Party's Bar. Oda needed to make Luffy eat the fruit naturally. So to do that, Oda made him eating his lunch first. And because of this shadowing, Luffy eating the fruit felt natural.
Shanks laughing of his missfortune is a shadowing that will only take effects far into the future of the story. oda needed to make Luffy see that fighting for bad reasons is meaningless. We understand the importance of this shadowing only on Jaya.
Lucky Roux explaining that the missing fruit is the fruit they took from an ennemy ship is a shadowing that will only be relevant decades later in Wano..
Etc. As you can see, shadowings are extremely powerful tools, when used well they make the difference between a good and a jaw drawping story. And of course, Oda is one of their master.
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