Genre
Short stories
Setting and Context
Written in the context of existentialism
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Intriguing, humorous and optimistic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The main character is Clive Wilkes in ‘The Serial Killer.’
Major Conflict
The major conflict is in the story 'Heroism', where a servant plans to ignite her employer's house and then create a chance to save employees from exhibiting her bravery and audacity.
Climax
The climax comes in the story 'The Button', where a young man aspiring to be a photographer discovers the false principle that a camera never lies
Foreshadowing
The spectator’s opportunity to save the president’s life from a sniper in the story ‘Mermaids on the Golf Course’ is foreshadowed by St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Understatement
The boy's trauma in the story 'The Terrapin' is understated. The boy is traumatized when he realizes that the family intends to convert the visiting turtle into a meal.
Allusions
The story ‘The Snail-Watcher’ alludes to the beauty of nature.
Imagery
The description of the meeting of the man and the daughter in the story 'A Girl Like Phyl' depicts sight imagery. The daughter's physical appearance is compared to the beauty of a lady the man loved two decades ago.
Paradox
The main paradox is in the story 'Old Folks at Home', in which a couple decides to adopt an old couple from a nursing home instead of taking in a helpless boy. The paradox is that the old couple will be dependent their entire life. Helping the young boy could have been the best option.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The pet snails are personified.
