In a novel, destination is where the story is eventually going to lead up to. Events in the novel can hint at or even just tell the reader the destination. The way the writer presents certain lines or passages of text can give us hints as to what is about to happen, or what will happen in the future.
As the reader we usually know the destination before the characters in the novel do, as we are provided with more information, whereas they only know what directly affects them.
For example, in Pride and Prejudice, we can work out, or have a good guess at, the destination at which we think the novel will arrive at even from the first line. The line "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife". This line is set apart in its own paragraph. This tells us that it is important, and draws our attention to it. As a result, this idea is stuck in our heads, making us think upon its importance. We can only speculate as to whether this relates at all to the main plot line of the novel, but due to the layout of the text, we must assume so. The line gives the reader the thought that the novel will contain themes of marriage and class. The following conversation also gives us these ideas, whilst also introducing a potential main character, which may in some way be connected to the destination.
At the end of this chapter is the line "The business of her life was to get her daughters married". Due to the content of the previous conversation, and also the first line, we can assume that that is the potential destination of this novel, or that the novel will contain Mrs Bennet's efforts in achieving this destination.
It is through these subtle hints and techniques that the reader can start to piece together what he/she believes the destination will be.
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