The Bridge of San Luis Rey
by Thornton Wilder

The Bridge of San Luis Rey: Flashbacks 1 key example

Flashbacks
Explanation and Analysis:

In The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Wilder makes frequent use of flashback to illuminate his characters' lives and the novel's core themes. The novel's three middle chapters, which detail the lives of the bridge collapse's victims, each start at the beginning of one character's life and proceed until the final tragedy before the next chapter moves back in time. While these chapters are far longer and more elaborate than a typical flashback, they still interrupt the forward flow of time in order to give the reader a better understanding of each character's trajectory.