Experiencing and Reliving Vietnam

Question 11 • Hopkins FA American Literature (2026-2027)

Which pair of sentences from “Ambush” best reflects that a flashback, or a shift in time, has occurred?

Answer

She knew about the war; she knew I’d been a soldier. “You keep writing these war stories,” she said, “so I guess you must’ve killed somebody.”

Even now, I haven’t finished sorting it out. Sometime I forgive myself, other times I don’t.

When she was, nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone.I reached out and found three grenades and lined them up in front of me; the pins had already been straightened for quick throwing.

I did not hate the young man; I did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality or politics or military duty. I crouched and kept my head low.

Explanation

Choice C begins with Kathleen asking her father a question when she was nine, establishing an earlier conversation. The next sentence shifts to the wartime scene, where he reaches for grenades, showing a flashback to the event he is remembering. The other choices focus on reflection or describe events without making this clear shift in time.

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