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Difference Between Flashbacks & Foreshadowing

Consider the following two excerpts, "She thought about this time last month," and "Do not talk to strangers; you would get into trouble." In the first excerpt, the author provides the readers with hints of what happened before, and in the second, the author provides hints of something that is about to happen. These components guide the readers' analysis of the story and to provide a better understanding of its meaning are called literary devices. The former excerpt is an example of flashback, and the latter is an example of foreshadowing.

  1. What Is a Flashback?

    • A flashback interrupts the present narrative of a story with something that happened in the past. It describes past events in relation to the present. Authors use words like, "Rosy remembered when" to introduce a flashback. After the flashback, they use words like "now" or "at present" to indicate the end of the flashback. It disturbs the chronological order of the plot, but brings in a more interesting experience to the reader.

    What Is Foreshadowing?

    • During the course of a story, the author may provide clues that help the reader to predict what might occur later in the story. Foreshadowing is a literary device that authors use to give these clues. To use foreshadowing, most authors make use of the beliefs or causal links that the readers would have experienced in their lives. With this link, the readers tend to expect a particular pattern of events to occur in the story. Foreshadowing may also be carried out by characters who predict the future. For instance, a father may predict that the son would grow up to be bad if he continues like this.

    Purpose of Flashback and Foreshadowing

    • Authors make use of flashbacks to provide the reader with more information about a character or an in-depth understanding of the character's personality. This information helps the readers to understand the character, and the motives or purposes, behind the character's actions. Authors use foreshadowing to create suspense and build the excitation levels of the readers. The readers are tempted to predict the events that are likely to happen, and then they keep reading to know whether they were right or not. Some authors use it as a method to set a stage for future events, so that the reader is prepared for them.

    Examples of Flashback and Foreshadowing

    • 'When the wolf told her about a shortcut he knew, Little Red Riding Hood reflects on what her mother advised her. "'Don't talk to strangers and watch out for the wolf in the woods,'" This is an example of a flashback, where Little Red Riding Hood thinks about what her mother told her earlier in the story. "Little Red Riding Hood's mother asked her to take some food to her grandmother one day. "'Don't stop along the way. Go straight to your grandma's house and back. Don't talk to any strangers and watch out for the wolf in the woods!'" This is an example of foreshadowing, where the mother warns about the wolf, and it gives a hint of what might happen.

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