At the beginning of the story, how does the reader know right away that Mrs. Swinton’s garden isn’t real? How does the garden serve as an element of foreshadowing?

The reader knows that the garden is not real because of the presence of artificial or genetically modified living beings. This foreshadows that Mrs. Swinton's son is also not natural, but a robot.

Explanation:

The question above refers to "Supertoys Last All Summer Long", a story about the utopian future where science has evolved so much as to create artificial or genetically modified beings that are very similar to natural beings and promote the same resources. These beings can be plants, animals and even humans. It is in this sense that we realize that Mrs.'s garden is composed of modified organisms, which makes this garden not, in fact, real. Just like Mrs. Swinton's son, we learn at the end of the story that he is not a real child but a robot.

in the quotation from passage, connie willis states that literature is a way for authors from the past to communicate with readers of today. we can read their stories, books, and other texts to learn lessons about life. willis refers to these lessons as messages “from beyond the grave.” willis has a favorable viewpoint about the timelessness of literature.