Genre
Coming of age novel
Setting and Context
The novel is set in 1996 in the forests of Canada.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Sad, disheartening, discouraging, hopeless
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is Larry Sole.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that Larry has a crush on Juliet, who turns out to be Beck's girlfriend. Larry and Beck are best friends, but he is jealous because he does not know how to win Juliet without hurting Beck.
Climax
The climax is when Larry opens up about his sexual and physical abuse from his father, who is supposed to be his protector and guide in life.
Foreshadowing
Sexual and physical abuse from Larry’s father foreshadows his loneliness.
Understatement
Parenthood is understated. Larry’s father is a disgrace in parenthood because he does the contrary of his expectations.
Allusions
The story alludes to poor parenting and how innocent children are subjected to misery and suffering by parents.
Imagery
The author's description of Larry's loneliness depicts sight imagery, which helps readers see how his father sexually and physically abused him.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Larry's father is a disgrace to parenthood. The father does the contrary when he rapes his son and physically abuses him.
Parallelism
Larry's life parallels Beck's because he desires to be privileged like him, but that is not the case. The two live contrast worlds because Beck is loved and adored by her parents while his father abuses Larry.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Fort Rae is embodied as a bad individual who arouses bad memories in Larry’s mind.
