Tracing Time's Threads: A Stylistic Analysis of Flashback and Foreshadowing in Betool Khedairi's Absent

Abstract

When analyzing and evaluating literary texts, stylistic studies has adopted a certain approach. This study aims to investigate flashbacks and foreshadowing methods in which Betool Khedairi emphasizing in Absent. The most common uses of foreshadowing and flashbacks in literature are in the novel genre of works. This research was conducted in order to explore the challenges that surround the application of flashback and foreshadowing in Absent:  Presenting foreshadowing is done through linguistic structures that aren't the same as those used to present flashback scenes; some break from the linguistic rules that are used to construct foreshadowing, while others improve upon these rules. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to illustrate how Khedairi used several stylistic elements to create foreshadowing and flashback scenes, as well as to determine which category is more frequently used when creating foreboding remarks and flashback scenes. Thus, it is possible to hypothesize that the use of flashback is linked to rules that are being reinforced, while the use of foreshadowing is connected to deviant rule structures. It is also possible to propose that foreshadowing is introduced in the context of linguistic deviation and flashback in the context of linguistic parallelism. In order to study the usage of foreshadowing and flashback, the researcher has selected a model based on foregrounding theory, which was adapted from Leech and Short.