The Toxic Donut

How does the author use foreshadowing in The Toxic Donut?

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Bisson does not reveal until the very end of the story that Kim is supposed to kill herself on the television show by consuming the donut. Says Ron, "Okay. We all know what happens next . . . You eat it." However, even though this fact is not revealed to both Kim and Bisson's readers until the end, the author foreshadows Kim's death several times in the story. Foreshadowing is a technique that an author uses to give clues as to what might happen later in the story. In "The Toxic Donut," Ron does this many times. Says Ron, "Did you, I mean do you have a family?" His speaking about Kim in the past tense alerts the reader that there might be some reason Kim will not be around at the end of the story. On a similar note, Ron tells Kim that, during the show, the presidents will "have a plaque that goes to your family after." Since the plaque will not be going to Kim, there is more reason to suspect that something bad is going to happen to her.