Suspense. Mystery. Anticipation. All of these elements can be created by a writer by deploying rhetorical devices. In Ford's essay "optimists," Ford is able to evoke these feelings from the readers by foreshadowing throughout the entire story. "Optimists" reflects the life of Frank Brinson and his parents. Frank tells the story of how his life was changed forever in one night. Ford is able to interest and suspense the reader by foreshadowing the stories tragic ending.

"Optimists" tragic ending is distinctively foreshadowed from the start. The story begins with Frank narrating the night his whole life changed. He states that all of this happened "in 1959, the year my (his) parents were divorced, the year when my (his) father killed a man and went to prison for it, the year I (he) left home and school, told a lie about my (his) age to fool the army, and then did not come back. (Ford 301) At this point, the reader is informed of the main events of the story, but is left without any detail thus keeping him/her v

This leaves the reader to feel suspicion once again. Ford had previously explained that Boyd worked at the Y.W.C.A. and that Dorothy likes to go swimming there. Furthermore, Dorothy says she felt "freer," after she swam, which leads the reader to doubt Dorothy's faithfulness to her husband. She also shows a guilty conscience by asking Frank if he ever thought anything was taking place.

ery interested. Ford foreshadows the tragic murder, and the chaos caused by it, by narrating it through Frank.

However, more foreshadowing is understood by the ending of the story. Dorothy asks Frank if he ever thought she was cheating on his father with Boyd. Frank tells her that he never thought that, and Dorothy feels relieves and leaves.

Therefore when Boyd calls Roy a "featherbedder" and Roy punches him in the chest killing him, the reader understands that Ford was not really describing Roy's job earlier, but in actuality, he was foreshadowing the tragic murder.

We now begin to see the tragedy unfold. Roy is arrested and goes to jail for murder, which eventually leads to a divorce between him and Dorothy. Frank joins the army by adding two years to his age, and Dorothy eventually gets remarried

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