Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
Set in Philadelphia in the context of the criminal underworld
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is indignant and the mood is melancholic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are the two men on trial for murder.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between immorality and religion in Philadelphia.
Climax
The climax comes when the reader sees how the law favors the wealthy. For instance, the wealthy man charged with killing his wife is let free while the poor man who killed a rapist is jailed for life.
Foreshadowing
The judgment in the courts of Philadelphia is foreshadowed by influence and affluence.
Understatement
The brutality of the justice system is understated. The reader realizes that the judges favor wealthy and powerful people who are immoral and guilty while the just are jailed.
Allusions
The story alludes to immorality, crime, and Philadelphia's unfair justice system.
Imagery
Legal imagery is dominant throughout the book because most of the events occur in the courtrooms.
Paradox
The main paradox is that the justice system is crooked, and it sacrifices the just while setting free the wealthy and powerful offenders.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between immorality in Philadelphia and the practices of the rotten justice system.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Debauchery is used as a metonymy for immorality and suppression of women as sex objects.
Personification
N/A
