Genre
Historical
Setting and Context
New Orleans in 1830
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator.
Tone and Mood
The tone is depressing; the mood is melancholic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Rutherford is the protagonist; Papa Zeringue is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Rutherford manages to escape being forced to marry Isadora on the boat named the Republic.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Rutherford decides to stay on the ship, which travels all the way tp Africa to capture tribe members as slaves.
Foreshadowing
The mutiny of the sailors is foreshadowed by the brewing storm.
Understatement
The impact of racism is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the lives of the slaves making the journey in the Middle Passage.
Imagery
The imagery of the brutal capturing of tribe members is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that the Captain is philosophical, yet is content with slavery is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between what Rutherford witnesses and the actual atrocities that happened on slave ships.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
