Isabel's eyes were locked on the engraving of a sleek, diamond-eyed fish on the elderly museum tour guide's emerald necklace. The symbol transported her to her thirteenth birthday, when her uncle, recently returned from a maritime archaeological expedition, had handed her a gilded box. Isabel had opened the box in bewilderment and found a bizarre, irregular-shaped contraption covered in buttons with strange hieroglyphics. The smaller buttons were centered around a larger button that glowed in alternating colors, and which held a symbol of a diamond-eyed fish. "Keep this," her uncle had urged, "and show it to no one-it will one day be very useful to you."

Question

Isabel's eyes were locked on the engraving of a sleek, diamond-eyed fish on the elderly museum tour guide's emerald necklace. The symbol transported her to her thirteenth birthday, when her uncle, recently returned from a maritime archaeological expedition, had handed her a gilded box. Isabel had opened the box in bewilderment and found a bizarre, irregular-shaped contraption covered in buttons with strange hieroglyphics. The smaller buttons were centered around a larger button that glowed in alternating colors, and which held a symbol of a diamond-eyed fish. "Keep this," her uncle had urged, "and show it to no one-it will one day be very useful to you."
Why is the use of the flashback effective in advancing the plot?
1 It presents a compelling mystery and invites readers into the story to find
its explanation.
2 It provides a logical explanation for why Isabel was in a discussion with the tour guide.
3 It indicates that Isabel's uncle may have obtained the gilded box through
deceit and subterfuge.

GPT 3.5 · Answer

1 It presents a compelling mystery and invites readers into the story to find its explanation.