Genre
Psychological Fiction
Setting and Context
The novel largely takes place in the house of the children in an unnamed city and time period.
Narrator and Point of View
The novel is narrated by Jack from a first person point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone in the novel is very casual even though the themes being tackled are generally considered to be very serious.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Jack, and the antagonist is Derek, although the reader is often led to question their respective roles due to their actions and the way they act.
Major Conflict
The major conflict occurs when Derek becomes suspicious of the fetid stench that emanates from the children's cellar. His curiosity is temporarily sated by Jack's explanation that the cellar houses the dead body of the family dog.
Climax
The story climaxes when Derek's suspicions can no longer be quelled and he begins to think that the children's mother is actually in the cellar. He then walks in on Jack and Julie having sex, and proceeds to break open the cement in which the children's mother is hidden.
Foreshadowing
The death of the children's father early on while working with cement foreshadows the children burying their mother in cement.
Understatement
The novel understates the significance of the children burying their mother in cement as it is described as very matter-of-factly.
Allusions
There are significant allusions to sexual immorality in the novel through its descriptions of the sexual nature of the incestuous activities that take place in the children's home.
Imagery
The novel makes use of visual imagery when it describes Jack and Julie playing doctor with their younger sister Sue.
Paradox
Julie and Derek are supposed to be in a relationship but things between them are very loveless. Ironically, Julie and Jack, who aren't supposed to be in a relationship, end up becoming sexually involved.
Parallelism
The relationship between Julie and Jack is paralleled with the relationship between Julie and Derek.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The titular cement garden is a synecdoche for the house that the children live in. It can also be interpreted to refer to the cement sarcophagus holding the children's mother.
Personification
None
