The Cask Of Amontillado By Neil Gaiman - 925 Words

The past can tell a lot about someone s life and personality. In literature the use of flashback gives insight to both the characters as well as the plot of the story. Both Neil Gaiman’s â€Å"How to talk to Girls at Parties† and Edgar Allen Poe’s â€Å" The Cask of Amontillado† show examples of using this literary device and how it affects the story. Not only does the use of flashback give insight to the character’s background and motivation ,but also affects both stories in tone and characterization. Neil Gaiman’s short story takes place thirty years in the past. Gaiman uses flashback to create tone and suspense. The story begins with two young friends on the way to a party together. However, Gaiman causes the reader to question what will happen later on by interrupting the story saying, â€Å"I’ve not seen Vic for thirty years. I’m not sure that I would know what to say to him if I did† (228). Both Enn and Vic were gr eat friends; however, Enn stating in the future that him and Vic have not talked or seen each other in thirty years shows that something in the story has caused this riff between them. The application of flashback causes the reader to question what in the story has caused this and gives a sense of uncertainty. This example of flashback also acts as foreshadowing towards the plot. What will happen? How did it change their friendship? Gaiman uses words in past tense such as â€Å" in my memory† (230) and â€Å"back then†(233) . The use of these words and diction used gives the