English 9 / Unit 1: Reading Fiction: Plot, Setting and Conflict
1.4 Foreshadowing and Flashback
Notes
Authors play with time and hints to build interest.
- Foreshadowing: hints or clues about what will happen later.
- Flashback: a scene that interrupts the present to show an earlier event.
- Flash-forward: a jump ahead to a future event.
- Chronological order: events told in the order they happen.
- Example of foreshadowing: "As Ana stepped onto the frozen pond, she heard a faint crack, but she laughed it off."
Practice
"Grandpa's hands trembled as he held the medal. He was nineteen again, crouched in a muddy trench as shells burst overhead." This passage uses:
The story shifts to an event from Grandpa's past.
Which sentence best foreshadows danger?
Ignored storm clouds hint at trouble to come.
Why might an author use a flashback?
Flashbacks give background that explains present actions.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 1 test.