Genre
Family Saga
Setting and Context
China in the 18th century.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator of this story is not involved himself in the action of the story but knows the thoughts of all the characters.
Tone and Mood
Serious and poetic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Jia Baoyu and the antagonist is Jia She.
Major Conflict
The fall of the Jia clan and the conflict between the Rongguo House and the Ningguo house.
Climax
When the Emperor decides the Jia clan is out of favor.
Foreshadowing
Baoyu has a dream in chapter five which foreshadows some of the character's fates.
Understatement
The statement "Greater intimacy came the occasional tiffs and misunderstandings" understates the familial conflicts that happen in the text.
Allusions
The fall of the Jia clan is an allusion to the fall of the Qing dynasty.
Imagery
Tsao Hsueh-Chin uses rich and vivid imagery to describe life in 18th century China.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
"Some good remained,
Some good remained:
The daughter found a friend in need
Through her mother's one good deed."
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The wind and moonlight are personified as composing: "The wind and moonlight first did love compose."
