Loser

Loser Literary Elements

Genre

Young-adult fiction

Setting and Context

The story is set in the early 2000s in an unnamed working-class town in the Eastern United States.

Narrator and Point of View

The story is narrated by an unnamed third-person omniscient narrator; the point of view stays largely with Zinkoff, but occasionally shifts to secondary characters.

Tone and Mood

The tone is humorous and contemplative; the mood exuberant and tender.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Donald Zinkoff is the protagonist; antagonists include fellow students, certain teachers, and Zinkoff's neighbor Andrew.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is that Zinkoff's difficulties with learning and making friends prevent him from conforming to his social environment. His enthusiasm and inherent kindness go largely unrecognized while his inability to conform turns him into a social pariah and earn him the nickname "Loser."

Climax

The story reaches its climax when Zinkoff nearly dies of hypothermia while spending seven hours searching for a little girl who he believes is lost in the snow.

Foreshadowing

Understatement

Allusions

Imagery

Paradox

Parallelism

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Personification