Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
The United States, Messina, the beginning of the 21st century. Along with the events of present time, there are many recollections of the events which took place in the second half of the 20th century.
Narrator and Point of View
It is third-person narration.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood of the novel changes from sad and melancholic to more cheerful till the end. This change goes gradually and represents the inner battle of the protagonist – Neely cannot still decide whether he loved or hated his former coach, and only with the death of the last he made up his mind and achieves peace in mind.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are Neely Crenshaw and Eddie Rake, the antagonist is sports and football in particular.
Major Conflict
The main conflict stands in the differentiation between love and hatred.
Climax
The climax comes with the death of Eddie Rake.
Foreshadowing
Neely’s recollection of the part foreshadow for him many emotions.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
There are allusions to famous detective writers - Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Elmore Leonard. Eddie Rake used to read the books of these authors.
Imagery
The main image of the novel is the bleachers. There are also some other instances of imagery of the city, cafes, and school.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
The events of the present and past are depicted in parallel.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“The bleachers were silent now, waiting” ("bleachers" as a metonymy for people sitting there)
Personification
“Fifteen years had passed”
