Which term means a scene that interrupts chronological order to reveal past events important to the story?

• A. Foreshadowing
• B. Flashback
• C. Denotation
• D. Paradox

Answer: (B)

A flashback is a scene that interrupts the present timeline to reveal past events that are important to the story. It lets you understand a character’s motives, relationships, or backstory by stepping back in time and seeing what happened before. You’ll spot it when the narration shifts to earlier moments, often with signals like “Earlier,” “In memory,” or a memory-like recollection that pulls the reader into the past. This is different from foreshadowing, which hints at what will happen later, and from denotation, which is about a word’s literal meaning, or paradox, a self-contradictory statement used for emphasis. For example, a detective remembering a childhood incident that explains why they distrust a suspect shows how a flashback deepens your understanding of the present situation.