Genre
A novel
Setting and Context
The events in the story take place in rural Georgia, not far from Augusta city
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narration
Tone and Mood
An ironic tone is prevalent in the story, with sentimental and religious elements
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is Jeeter Lester, a poor white who longs to have a farm but he doesn’t have money to realize his dream
Major Conflict
The major conflict stands in the contradiction between desire to do something and actual laziness about doing it, between realities and possibilities to change them
Climax
The climax happens when Ada and Jeeter have a fight with Sister Bessie, after which Bessie and Dude ride away. On this night, their house burns and they didn’t survive.
Foreshadowing
The poverty in which Lester’s family had been living for many years foreshadows that there is no chance that they can change the situation.
Understatement
In the story, the role of family and marriage is understated; the power of desire is understated as well in the story.
Allusions
The story alludes to the period of the Great Depression in the United States.
Imagery
see the imagery section
Paradox
The paradox of the story is that although Jeeter wanted to run a farm and grow plants, he did nothing but talk about it, and he was surprised why his situation didn’t change .
Parallelism
The story has parallels with cultural contrast and social stereotypes.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The author uses metonymy and synecdoche to highlight the important information in the utterance: “some of the older boys”, “take everything a man’s got”, “Them rich people up there in Augusta come down here".
Personification
The author uses personification in the depiction the nature: “The white Smoke of the broom-sedge fire coiled upward”, “the fall of darkness”.
