Question

my parents arrived in america at the same airport within a week of each other. ironically, they didnt meet until a year and a half later, in the library of san francisco state university. they were both graduate students.
for tuition money, my mother worked at a cannery. my father sold wigs door - to - door.
eventually, my father became an engineer and my mother a librarian. just before i was born, they moved into an apartment near san francisco chinatown. we stayed there for nine years.
— gene luen yang, american born chinese, 2006
which literary element is displayed in the passage?
a. parallel plot
b. inciting incident
c. flashback
d. foreshadowing

Explanation:

• Option A: Parallel plot involves multiple independent plots running simultaneously, which is not the case here.
• Option B: Inciting incident is an event that starts the main conflict, and this passage is more about recalling past events.
• Option C: Flashback is a literary device where the narrative goes back in time to show past events. The passage is recounting the author's parents' past experiences (arrival in America, their jobs, career paths, moving to an apartment), which fits the definition of flashback.
• Option D: Foreshadowing hints at future events, but this passage is about past events, not hints about the future.

Answer:

C. Flashback