Foreshadowing is a favorite device to assign in Of Mice and Men essays because the novella is structured so tightly around it, from the opening river scene to the recurring mouse and dog imagery that anticipates the ending. It is also a device students frequently identify correctly but analyze poorly, which makes grading it well genuinely tricky.

The most common weakness in these essays is what might be called spot-the-device writing: a student correctly notices that Candy's dog's death foreshadows Lennie's fate, states it, and moves on without explaining how the parallel actually functions or what effect it creates for the reader.

A rubric that separates identification from explanation directly addresses this. Identification asks whether the student found a real instance of foreshadowing. Explanation asks whether they can articulate what the technique accomplishes, whether that is building dread, creating structural symmetry, or preparing the reader emotionally for the ending.

It also helps to require students to address the effect on the reader specifically, not just the effect on the plot, since foreshadowing is fundamentally about managing reader expectation and emotional response, not simply setting up later plot points.

Rubric Language for Foreshadowing Analysis

Effective rubric language for this device should require students to name the earlier moment, the later moment it anticipates, and the connection between them explicitly, rather than assuming the connection is self-evident to the reader of the essay.

• Identifies a genuine instance of foreshadowing with specific textual reference
• Names both the earlier moment and the later event it anticipates
• Explains the effect on the reader, not just the effect on plot events
• Connects the device to the novella's broader tone or structure
• Avoids treating foreshadowing as simply "a clue" without further development

Common Examples and Where Essays Fall Short

The Candy's dog parallel is the most frequently cited example, and understandably so, given how directly Steinbeck structures the connection. Weaker essays stop at noting the similarity between the two shooting scenes without addressing why Steinbeck includes Candy's regret about not doing it himself, a detail that carries direct weight for the ending.

Stronger essays notice this detail and use it to build a more sophisticated argument about agency and mercy, connecting the foreshadowing device to the novella's larger thematic concerns rather than treating it as an isolated structural trick.

Teaching the Skill Before Assigning the Essay

Because foreshadowing analysis requires holding two moments in the text in mind simultaneously, it helps to explicitly model this kind of two-part textual comparison in class before the essay is assigned, rather than assuming students will naturally structure their analysis this way.

A short in-class activity mapping earlier and later moments side by side gives students a concrete template they can then apply independently when writing.

Feedback That Sharpens This Skill Over Time

Because foreshadowing analysis is a recurring skill across many texts, feedback on this essay should explicitly name the pattern of strong analysis, tracing an earlier moment to a later one and explaining the reader's experience, so students can apply the same structure the next time they encounter this device in a different novel.

This kind of transferable feedback turns a single essay assignment into a durable analytical skill rather than a one-time exercise tied only to this particular novella.