Genre
Historical Fictional Novel
Setting and Context
Set in the 18th century in a British Penal Colony in Australia
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person point of view
Tone and Mood
The tone is tense, and the mood is optimistic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Baker.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is that the criminals and rejects are shipped to Australia without knowing their purpose is to populate the new region.
Climax
The climax comes when actors memorize Farquhar's play despite not knowing how to read the Australian language.
Foreshadowing
The British criminal justice system and colonization foreshadow Farquhar's play.
Understatement
The power of romance is understated.
Allusions
The novel alludes to life in the British penal colony during the 18th century.
Imagery
The images of prison, prisoners' death, and criminals' shipping depict the sense of sight to readers, thus enhancing sight imagery.
Paradox
The main paradox is that love has no boundaries. Despite knowing that Mary is a petty thief, Baker falls in love with, and they have a son together. However, Baker knows very well that he has another wife in England.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Colonization is personified as futile.
