Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
Buenos Aires in the 1830s
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person point of view
Tone and Mood
Solemn, Chaotic, Empowering, Violent, Depressing, and Mysterious
Protagonist and Antagonist
A 25-year old, unnamed man (Protagonist) vs. the government and people of Argentina (Antagonists)
Major Conflict
The protagonist's - as well as the other people of Buenos Aires - struggle to survive the flood and continue to eat all while trying to escape government oppression.
Climax
When the protagonist goes to the courtroom and is eventually killed
Foreshadowing
The protagonist's death is foreshadowed quickly after he is introduced.
Understatement
The extent to which the protagonist is threatened by everything going on around him is understated.
Allusions
To the history of Argentina, geography (of Argentina, primarily), popular culture, religion and religious holidays, and Christianity.
Imagery
Echeverria uses intense and violent imagery to underscore the intensity of the floods.
Paradox
A tremendous number of animals were slaughtered for food, but not everyone got food (even if they could have).
Parallelism
The story of protagonist and other dissidents are paralleled throughout the short story.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The floods which crippled Buenos Aires are personified throughout the short story.
