Flashback

//__Flashback __//


 * Definition:: ** **(n.) A scene which is a return to a previous action, hence, a revival of the memory of past events.**


 * Origin:: English word meaning "to go back to" **

Definition taken from: The Oxford English Dictionary- Online (www.oed.com)

1) From //A Rose for Emily//, a brief flashback can be discovered near the end of the second section of the story. The other villagers are referencing Emily's father and how he used to provide security for Emily: " We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will".
 * Examples ** from text:

2) A example of flashback can be found within the story // The Wedding Present // . This story, which Neil Gaiman had originally planned as a wedding present for some friends, sends a chill through the reader. Mid-way through the story the husband (Gordon) hands his wife (Belinda) a letter that entails: "a brief description of the previous two years for Gordon and Belinda. It had not been a good two years, according to the typed sheet." At the end of the story, the reader finds out Gordon has been dead for some time and we find Belinda reflecting in sorrow about the letter and Gordon. She ends up burning the letter and leaving us with the image of her sitting back in a chair, depressed. The ending shows us the whole story is indeed a flashback.

3) //We Can Remember It For You Wholesale// brings forth an interesting aspect about flashback and, specifically, memories. The novelette blends together reality along with false and real memories. The main character, Douglas Quail, has a goal to visit Mars. A company, named Rekal, can implant memories that never actually happened to the person. The attempt to implant Mars memories into Quail reveals that he actually //is// an undercover government assassin. By the end of the story, the reader realizes that these implanted memories to Mars actually happened to Quail. Near the end of the story, he flashes back to an instant where: "They [the people of Mars] even gave me a scroll,” Quail mumbled, “of gratitude." Simply stunning.

(JH)