Genre
Historical
Setting and Context
Fictional Cold Sassy, in Georgia in 1906
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator.
Tone and Mood
The tone is exciting; the mood is dramatic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Enoch is the protagonist; Tweedy is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Mattie Lou, Enoch's wife unexpectedly dies and leaves him to care for their daughters alone.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Enoch announces his intention to marry his crush Miss Love, despite the fact that she is much younger than him.
Foreshadowing
Will sneaking away to fish is foreshadowed by his cheeky nature.
Understatement
The role of relationships is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the need to move on in tough times.
Imagery
The imagery of wonderful romance is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that Mattie Lou dies mere weeks before Enoch announces his declaration of love is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The willow tree is a metonym for the love Enoch had to Mattie Lou.
Personification
N/A
