Genre
bildungsroman
Setting and Context
1954, Toronto Canada
Narrator and Point of View
Narrator: Lee Kendall (the main character)
Point of view: first person
Tone and Mood
Tone: direct, questioning
Mood: adventurous
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Lee Kendall; Antagonist: the only force with antagonizing qualities in the novel is the Hazel hurricane.
Major Conflict
Lee Kendall feels unhappy with his life in Espanola and decides to move out of his father's home to find his place in the world.
Climax
After rescuing a drowning man that fell into the river because of the hurricane Hazel, Lee makes his big break and finally gets a job as a reporter.
Foreshadowing
"Kendall, my son, I think you've got a future."
-Murphy foreshadowing Kendall's success in the business of journalism after noticing his potential.
Understatement
"I think you've almost hit those two, lad," Murphy observed calmly. "But that's alright. They would've died for a noble cause."
-The reporters of Telegram decided to take over the task of the ambulance to be the ones to get the first story from Marilyn Bell. Lee is the one driving, and he almost hits two people on the road, after which Murphy makes this remark understating the danger and the consequences.
Allusions
The entire novel alludes to the events of the Cold War and the tension that came with it.
Imagery
Imagery of cityscape and the liveliness of Toronto compared to the silence and lifelessness of Espanola is presented as Lee makes his big move.
Paradox
"I loved my dad in the kitchen. He could do anything with food except cook it."
Parallelism
"Angela had hugged me. Angela had kissed me. Angela had asked me on a date."
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"That's what Barrett called him-the deranged knife-wielder."-In reference to Lee's first first-hand story that he witnesses of a man getting arrested by the police.
Personification
"There'd been stories about Hazel for a week. She'd been a big hurricane-when she hit Haiti back on Tuesday, two hundred people were killed."
