A flashback is a literary device used to provide background information or context to the current events of a narrative. A stereotypical example of a flashback in modern cinema is a scene of a dramatic event that suddenly stops with a narrating voice that goes "You're probably wondering how I got there." This has become a modern meme. However, in traditional literature, flashbacks rarely occur in such a dramatic fashion.
In this article, we discuss why writers use flashbacks and provide examples of the device being used in literature.
Why do writers use flashback?
Writers use flashback for a variety of reasons. It allows the author to interrupt the chronological sequence of a story and transport readers to an earlier time. This can help reveal information that can better explain character motivations or the plot of the story.
Flashbacks can appear in various forms. These include memories, dreams, a recounting of past events by a character, and a narration of events by the author of the story themselves.
Examples of Flashback
Flashbacks have been utilized by authors across genres and eras, becoming a cornerstone of literary storytelling. Below are three notable examples of flashback, including one from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
In Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, the narrative structure itself is a frame story largely reliant on flashbacks. Nelly Dean, a servant familiar with the lives of the Earnshaw and Linton families, recounts the history of the tumultuous relationships between Heathcliff, Catherine, and the other characters. Here is one flashback that describes the origins of Heathcliff, one of the main characters of the novel. Heathcliff is brought into the household after a three-day trip by Mr. Earnshaw:
We crowded round, and over Miss Cathy’s head I had a peep at a dirty, ragged, black-haired child; big enough both to walk and talk: indeed, its face looked older than Catherine’s; yet when it was set on its feet, it only stared round, and repeated over and over again some gibberish that nobody could understand. I was frightened, and Mrs. Earnshaw was ready to fling it out of doors: she did fly up, asking how he could fashion to bring that gipsy brat into the house, when they had their own bairns to feed and fend for? What he meant to do with it, and whether he were mad? The master tried to explain the matter; but he was really half dead with fatigue, and all that I could make out, amongst her scolding, was a tale of his seeing it starving, and houseless, and as good as dumb, in the streets of Liverpool, where he picked it up and inquired for its owner. Not a soul knew to whom it belonged, he said; and his money and time being both limited, he thought it better to take it home with him at once, than run into vain expenses there: because he was determined he would not leave it as he found it. Well, the conclusion was, that my mistress grumbled herself calm; and Mr. Earnshaw told me to wash it, and give it clean things, and let it sleep with the children.
The flashback makes it quite clear how mysterious, foreign, and enigmatic the introduction of Heathcliff was for the family. It plays a huge role in giving context to the relationship between Heathcliff and the other characters.
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2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
Another great use of flashback can be found in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby’s mysterious past is gradually revealed through flashbacks, often narrated by Nick Carraway, the story’s protagonist. One significant instance occurs when Gatsby recounts his early relationship with Daisy Buchanan, explaining how their love blossomed before he went to war:
"I can't describe to you how surprised I was to find out I loved her, old sport. I even hoped for a while that she'd throw me over, but she didn't, because she was in love with me too. She thought I knew a lot because I knew different things from her...Well, there I was, way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute, and all of a sudden I didn't care. What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do?"
On the last afternoon before he went abroad he sat with Daisy in his arms for a long, silent time. It was a cold fall day with fire in the room and her cheeks flushed. Now and then she moved and he changed his arm a little and once he kissed her dark shining hair. The afternoon had made them tranquil for a while as if to give them a deep memory for the long parting the next day promised. They had never been closer in their month of love nor communicated more profoundly one with another than when she brushed silent lips against his coat's shoulder or when he touched the end of her fingers, gently, as though she were asleep.
This flashback puts into context Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of wealth and status as a means to win Daisy's heart. It also highlights Gatsby's idealism. The flashback allows us to see the true depth of emotion that inspires what on the surface seems like a hollow dream being pursued by Gatsby.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, December 19). What Is a Flashback? EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/what-is-a-flashback |
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