Genre
A postmodern novel
Setting and Context
It is set on a small Greek island of Phraxos.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told from the first point of view by Nicholas Urfe.
Tone and Mood
The tone is dramatic whilst the mood is depressingly mysterious.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Nicholas Urfe is the protagonist. Conchis is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
It is person vs. self
Nicholas lives in the world of illusions which prevent him from seeing who he truly is.
Climax
The moment when Nicholas learns the truth about Conchis and even visits his tomb is the climax of novel.
Foreshadowing
“I needed a new mystery”.
This sentence foreshadows the events of the story. It is clear that Nicholas is just a confused young man who is desperately searching for a new goal and is terrified of taking responsibility.
Understatement
“After the first shock I felt an almost immediate sense of relief, of freedom”.
Nicholas talks about his parents’ death as if it is a joke, but the truth is that he doesn’t let himself admit that he misses them.
Allusions
The novel alludes to Clytemnestra.
Imagery
The novel contains images of nature and of the protagonist's life.
Paradox
“She stood there in her white dress, small, innocent-corrupt, coarse-fine, an expert novice”.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“He had a bad eye”. (This is an example of metonymy which means that a person has a bad eyesight.)
“I sat under a puce and tomato Matthew Smith in the waiting room…” (A puce and tomato is synecdoche which means that Nicholas sat under the painting).
Personification
“A great flexed arm of mountains”
