Genre
An erotic romance novel
Setting and Context
The action takes place in Seattle, the State of Washington.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator of the novel is a first person Anastasia (Ana) Steele, who narrates about life with her husband Christian Grey and their enemies.
Tone and Mood
The mood is very romantic and sexual due to the erotic romance novel. Moreover, there is a stressful mood because of Jack Hyde’s threats and his blackmail.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The main protagonist is Christian Grey. The main antagonist is Jack Hyde.
Major Conflict
The main conflict happens between Christian Grey and Ana’s boss Jack Hyde. Jack Hyde tries to destroy their happy marriage, because Christian destroyed his reputation.
Climax
The climax happens when Jack Hyde kidnaps Christian’s sister Mia. Ana tries to save Mia, risking of her child, life and marriage.
Foreshadowing
When Ana is looking for scissors, she notices a pistol in Christian’s desk with the full drum of bullets. This is an ominous foreshadowing of something bad in the future, which the author quickly ignores. Soon we will learn about Christian’s enemy – Jack Hyde.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The novel alludes to Aretha Franklin (the song “I Say A Little Prayer”), Gabriel Fauré (“Requiem”), Sade (the song “Your Love Is King”) and the film “The Philadelphia Story”.
Imagery
See the imagery section
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallelism of life and death in the novel. Jack Hyde tries to kill everybody, who will prevent him from taking revenge on Christian Grey. He is not afraid of death. However, there are characters, who love life. At the end of the book, Ana becomes pregnant and her desire to survive for the sake of her baby is endless.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
During the wedding, the saying “Marry in haste, repent at leisure” haunts Anastasia. This saying means that you should not rush to choose the person with whom you want to live your whole life, because you can regret your choice.
Personification
The gun personifies threat, death and evil. Money, which Jack Hyde extorts from Anastasia, personifies evil. Ana’s pregnancy personifies hope and love.
