The use of flashbacks

This week, with our discussion focusing mainly on “Réquiem por un campesino español,” I was mainly intrigued by the particular style of writing used for this story. The use of flashbacks is an especially interesting way to tell this story. As we discussed in class, Mosén Millán remembered the story in a way that did not portray himself in such a negative light. However, I think the use of flashbacks affected the story in many other ways. For me, I think the biggest impact of the use of flashbacks was that the reader could see what was going to in the life of Mosén at the present time. Therefore, I did not initially think he was a bad person. In fact, as I began reading the story, I almost believed he was going to be a “good guy” in this story. I thought he was concerned for Paco´s sake that people came to his funeral. The amount of time he spent thinking about and recapping the events of Paco´s life made it seem as though he genuinely cared about him. Overall, I almost think that without the use of flashbacks, I (and probably most readers) would have thought of Mosén a lot more negatively.