Before the Fall Literary Elements

Fiction

The action takes place in America during the course of a few days.

The story is told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.

The tone and mood is a tragic one.

The protagonist is Scott and the antagonist is Maggie Bateman.

The major conflict in the story is presented as being between reality and perception.

The story reaches its climax when the reason behind the plane crash is revealed.

The plane crash is used here to foreshadow the marital problems which will be later revealed as taking place between the two main characters in the book.

One of the main understatements presented in the book is the idea that Scott was not affected by the plane crash. This is later proven wrong when Scott develops a series of problems caused by the plane crash.

One of the main allusions transmitted here is the idea that those who have a lot of money are often less happy than those who have a quiet and uneventful life.

An important image appears at the end of the first chapter when Scott is discovered with the little boy by his side, both alive. This image is important because it transmits the idea that in life, matters of life and death are often decided by faith and that humans are powerless to decide whether they live or die.

One of the most important paradoxes appears at the end of the story when the true reason behind the plane crash is revealed. Up until that point, it was speculated that the plane was the target of a terrorist attack. The last chapter of the book however revealed that the reason why the plane crashed was that one of the passengers had a silly argument with the pilot.

N/A

The plane crash is used here as a general term to make reference to the idea that at its core, every human life is equal.

We have a personification in the line "the plane plunged towards the ground."