“Knife” is told by Curtis’ point of view. The LD flashback is used twice in the story. The first flashback is on pg. 8, paragraph 3 (ex. “And the six years vaporized into nothing.”) The second flashback which brings Curtis back to the present is the first sentence of pg. 12 (ex. “I’ve told this part like a story.”) I think the flashback is used to explain the present time of the story so that the reader can get a better understanding of what Curtis’ past was when he was younger, and to explain why Curtis reacted the way he did when he met Ron in the story. I also think the author used the flashback to make the story way more interesting to read.
The school Curtis goes to is in the center of the city because on pg. 5 it says, “We have the highest turn-over rate of any high school in the city. The kids learn English and figure out the locker culture and then they’re ready to move on as well.” After reading the flashback of Curtis’ past you figure out that Ron is a shape shift of Rollo the seal from his flashback (pg.8).
You also learn from the flashback is that when Curtis was 11 years old his dad abandoned him with his mom. So why did Ron give the knife back to Curtis, smile and then leave (pg.12)? I think Ron did those things to get Curtis to leave his past behind him and to continue in the present, and to stop feeling guilty for killing Rollo (pg.11).
