Genre
Nonfiction
Setting and Context
Set in the context of nuclear war.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Horrific, sad, pessimistic, hopeless
Protagonist and Antagonist
Daniel Ellsberg is the central character.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is that many countries tested nuclear weapons during the Cold War to show their supremacy. Consequently, the mercy of the world is a few meters away from pressing a button.
Climax
The climax comes when the author reveals that breaking a global nuclear war is possible because superpowers like the USA have thousands of nuclear weapons at their exposure.
Foreshadowing
The nuclear war in the world is foreshadowed by the USA's secretive holding of nuclear weapons.
Understatement
The impact of a nuclear war is understated. Despite because harmful to people, nuclear weapons are poisonous and dangerous to the climate. For instance, nuclear weapons destroy the ozone layer, which endangers ecological life.
Allusions
The story is an allusion to a possibility of a nuclear war that will be the deadliest in history.
Imagery
The imagery of the nuclear bomb dominates the text. The author describes the impact of nuclear weapons on people and the environment, depicting devastating effects.
Paradox
The main paradox is that America, in the frontline against nuclear weapons, is the first culprit in secretly testing the same weapons. Therefore, America should lead as an example in abandoning nuclear weapons.
Parallelism
There is parallelism in what America stands for and what it does in secrecy.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Nuclear war is incarnated as futile.
