About the Function of Flashback

Flashbacks are an important literary device that have been used by many authors of fiction. These literary devices allow authors to show events in the past out of chronological order without interrupting the story’s plot. There are some stories that are centered on a character’s flashbacks. Two such examples are A Mason-Dixon Memory by Clifton Davis and The Sand Castle by Alma Luz Villanueva. In the first story, an African-American named Clifton Davis attends an anti-discrimination meeting where Dondre Green was the guest of honor. Green spoke about his experiences in the high school golf team. He was barred from participating in the state championships because of his skin color, so his teammates and his coach took his side and refused to attend. As for Davis, he was in middle school when he was not allowed to go to one of the parks on a graduation trip, so his classmates refused to go. In the second story, the Earth’s atmosphere was so polluted that it was dangerous to even step outside without protective clothing. An old grandmother took her grandchildren out to the beach and told them of what it was like decades ago, when the Earth’s atmosphere was pure.

Some stories contain flashbacks with memories similar to present experiences. Flashbacks remind characters of the past. In A Mason-Dixon Memory, in the past, when both Green and Davis were children, racism was common throughout the south, and blacks were barred from many places. However, their friends stood up for them when they were discriminated against by boycotting the places that refused to admit black people. When Green was not allowed to enter the golf competition, the entire team went home and forfeited the tournament. As a result, the state passed a legislation to allow for the inclusion of African Americans in competitive sports. When Davis was barred from entering one of the parks, his classmates also refused to go to boycott the park. In both cases, they had their friends standing by their side. In The Sand Castle, Mrs. Pavloff went to the beach when she was young, but forgot those experiences because she had not been there for nearly six decades. When she brought her grandchildren to the seaside, she remembered those times and it was almost like before, except there were no great birds flying in the sky. Flashbacks can be similar to present times.

Flashbacks also have differences compared to the present, as they take place in a different time. Times change, and so memories are not always the same as the present. In A Mason Dixon Memory, both of the flashbacks took place in a country where discrimination was common. Dondre Green and Clifton Davis both experienced exclusion simply because of their skin color. Back then, they depended on their friends to stand up for them and empower them. Now, Blacks were equal under the law and could not be banned from entering a certain place because of their skin color alone. This was because of many boycotts that encouraged anti-discrimination legislation to be passed. Meanwhile, in The Sand Castle, Mrs. Pavloff remembered going to the beach as a child and bathing in the sun’s warmth. Now, that was impossible because of the heavy pollution that had destroyed the Earth’s ozone layer. The children had to wear protective suits and there were no majestic birds like eagles roaming the skies anymore; nor were there beautiful seashells like when she was little. Flashbacks in fiction can contain different memories from present events.

Flashbacks have a significant impact as they can highlight prior events that were important. Flashbacks are usually used to highlight a major moment in the past. In A Mason-Dixon Memory, Clifton Davis remembered his past when he was treated unfairly because of his skin color while Dondre Green was discussing his teenagehood in the high school golf team. The two faced discrimination but they overcame it with the help of their friends. Now, they had overcome the racist laws that segregated whites and blacks. In The Sand Castle, the memories of birds flying through the skies and the shells washing ashore were distant. When she went to the beach once more, she remembered the past, and she felt that the Earth would regenerate. She confidently took out her special shells; the last 8 shells, possibly in the entire world. She used them to decorate the sand castle that the grandchildren built, and said that one day, the ocean would make more of them. In both stories, the flashbacks had some significance due to the progress the world had made between now and then.

Flashbacks are used by many authors to explain the past of their characters. In A Mason Dixon Memory, Dondre Green was invited to talk about his experiences as a player on his high-school golf team. He was discriminated against because of his skin color and not allowed to participate in a state tournament. As a result, his entire team boycotted the event by simply refusing to attend. Clifton Davis, who was listening, assimilated his own encounters with racism. When he was in middle school, he helped raise enough money for the graduation trip, but was barred from entering one of the parks in D.C. Just like in Green’s case, his friends stood up for him and refused to go. In The Sand Castle, human activity had polluted the Earth so much that the ozone layer was nonexistent and the sun’s deadly radiation killed everything. Mrs. Pavloff took her grandchildren out to the seaside and told them what it was like before the sun was dangerous and also remembered the past that was 60 years behind her. Both stories made use of flashbacks to compare and contrast the current events compared to the past.