Student Question
What literary devices does the author of "The Face on the Milk Carton" use?
Quick answer:
The author of "The Face on the Milk Carton" primarily uses flashbacks as a literary device. These flashbacks, often italicized, provide insights into the protagonist's past, triggered by everyday events. For example, seeing a milk carton prompts a memory of a dress, and eating ice cream recalls her kidnapping. These "daymares" help the protagonist uncover her traumatic history, allowing readers to understand her background and emotional state.
The literary device of the flashback is the most used in The Face on the Milk Carton. These flashbacks show the reader what happened in her past. It is a sort of look into her memory. The incident of the milk carton makes her remember about the little girl's dress.
"She remembered that dress . . . how the collar itched . . . remembered the fabric; it was summer fabric; the wind blew through it . . . remembered how those braids swung like red silk against her cheeks."
The flashbacks typed in italics are triggered by event in her daily life. She is with Reeve and they are starting to eat ice cream sundaes. Suddenly, she remembers when she was kidnapped inthe mall because of a woman who has "long straight cascading hair" who allures her with an ice cream sundae. Janie calls her flashbacks "daymares". She discovers her traumatic past through the flashbacks. This is a literary device where the author lets the reader know about the character's past.
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