Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is used in an unusual way in A Prayer for Owen Meany. John Irving gives off subtle hints of the future, but since they are not obvious, he goes back and explains his use of it.
One example is the fact that Owen’s family is in the granite business in the “Granite State”.

“It was a brick-shaped piece of the finest granite- ‘Monument quality, as good as they get out of barre,’ Owen would say. Owen had cut it himself, polished it himself; he had designed and chiseled the border himself, and the engraving was all his, too. He had worked on it after school in the monument shop, and on weekends.” Pg.121“
"It had been made in a monument shop, with grave-marking tools; it may have had her wedding date on it, but I was a miniature tombstone.” Pg. 122

In a way it’s ironic. Irving goes in to great detail in the beginning of the story about how Owen’s family was involved in the granite business. That fact comes in to the story many times. Owen uses it to his advantage when making Tabby her wedding present- a piece of granite with her wedding date engraved on it. After killing her, Owen’s family makes her the headstone too.

Irving proves his use of foreshadowing by explaining almost mid-way through the process, which interested me.

“Well, my mother adored Owen; if he’d given her a gravestone with the date of her death left blank to be filled in at the appropriate time- she would have loved that, too.” Pg. 122