Genre
Historical Fiction
Setting and Context
Late 1800s, London during the era of sending convicts to the "penal colonies" of Australia and Tasmania
Narrator and Point of View
There is a third person narrator. The point of view alternates. Sometimes the story is told entirely from Rufus Dawes' point of view. Sometimes it is told from the narrator's point of view. The narrator is a supporter of Dawes and believes that he was treated abhorrently so the point of view is that of someone who does not support the penal colony system.
Tone and Mood
Depressing and hopeless
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Rufus Dawes. The entire penal system is his antagonist but the chief antagonist in his life in the colony is Frere.
Major Conflict
There is conflict throughout the book. The first major conflict comes between Lady Elinor and her husband. He is physically abusive and their main conflict comes after one particularly brutal attack on his wife when she tells him he is not the biological father of their son. He orders her to exile her son or he will ruin her reputation.
Climax
Dawes and Sylvia finally reunite. She finally believes in his character and the fact that he is a good person; however, as they escape, there is a storm and they are killed at sea.
Foreshadowing
Dawes' determination and courage enrages Frere. This rage foreshadows the exceptionally brutal treatment that he metes out to Dawes, far worse treatment than any of the other convicts are subjected to.
Understatement
The penal colonies are said to be "hard" which could not be more of an understatement; the majority of the convicts are abused and many are not transported for particularly serious crimes in the first place.
Allusions
No specific allusions in this book; however, the entire plot alludes to the British penal system of the nineteenth century when convicts were shipped off to "the colonies", Australia and the Pacific Islands
Imagery
The shipwreck is described in a way that enables the reader to visualize the disaster, but also to imagine what is sounds like, both the shipwreck itself, and the screaming of the victims on it.
Paradox
There is a marked resemblance in the appearance of John and Rufus; however, there is no similarity in their personal characters at all.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the way in which both John and the Reverend get away with their crime whilst Dawes is convicted of it.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The Settlement is an all-encompassing statement that incorporates everyone imprisoned at a Settlement as well as those working there and guarding the prisoners.
Personification
No specific examples in this book
