Genre
African-American Literature
Setting and Context
Long Island in New York, in the year 1985
Narrator and Point of View
Benji Cooper in the first-person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is emotional and powerful; the mood is tense and dramatic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Benji is the protagonist; his prep school is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Benji spaces from his white prep school in Manhattan with his brother Reggie.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Benji and Reggie visit their beach house in Sag Harbor.
Foreshadowing
The escape of the Cooper brothers is foreshadowed by Benji's rebellious attitude.
Understatement
The role that race and status play in society is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the Whitehead's personal experiences as a teenager.
Imagery
The imagery of teenage happiness and freedom is present in the novel.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the love that Benji experiences in the novel and the young love that Colson Whitehead also experienced as a teenager.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Benji's constantly moving nature is personified through the never stopping New York that he has grown up in.
