Genre
Science fiction novel
Setting and Context
Set in a futuristic world in the context of the societal implications of integration.
Narrator and Point of View
The third-person point of view is told from Nell and Engineer John's points of view.
Tone and Mood
Ambitious, aggressive, buoyant
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Nell.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that Nell, her brother and their mother do not belong to any tribe because they are poor.
Climax
The climax comes when Nell gets the primer that guides her throughout her life. The primer interacts with Nell and tells her the right decisions to take before doing anything.
Foreshadowing
Hackworth's imprisonment is foreshadowed by his decision to accept Dr. X's request to care for the abandoned girls.
Understatement
The power of the Fists is understated. The reader realizes that the fists are authoritative when they attempt to concur with the entire Han.
Allusions
The story alludes to future technology and its capability in controlling the human mind.
Imagery
The imagery of the primers creates visual images to show how developing girls are guided in life through a recorded voice. For instance, Nell is among the beneficiaries of the primers.
Paradox
Hackworth’s decision to create primers for the abandoned girls was entirely satirical because he had t sacrifice his political duties for an illegal activity that landed him in prison for ten years.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between drummers’ nanotechnology ambitions and the Fists’ take over of the entire Han.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The mouse army is personified.
