Narrative technique

In “Smile” by Roddy Doyle, the author relies on three connected narrative techniques to convey his story: the red herring, foreshadowing, and plot twist.

The red herring means diverting readers’ attention from a relevant or important issue. In this case, the author makes readers assume that the story is about a Catholic teacher’s abuse of the narrator. All through the story, the author drops foreshadowing elements that lead us to assume that abuse will take place: “– Victor Forde, I can never resist your smile. It was like a line from a film, in a very wrong place. I knew I was doomed.” (ll. 18-19); “I couldn’t see why he’d picked on me. (…) Never smile back at him. Never get ten out of ten. Never get below five – don’t give him any excuse to...