Genre
Non-fiction
Setting and Context
The book was written in the context of human genetics and biology.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Educative, comical, enlightening, intriguing
Protagonist and Antagonist
Neil Shubin is the protagonist and narrator.
Major Conflict
The conflict is that all sea anemones have no universal features with humans. Generally, sea creatures have no similarity with human beings.
Climax
The climax is that despite the creatures having different features, their DNA is similar in most aspects.
Foreshadowing
Shubin’s teachings foreshadow his comprehension of human genetics and human biology.
Understatement
The variation in sea creature's physical features is understated because they all have similar DNA.
Allusions
The story alludes to similarities in human and sea creatures' DNA to enhance a general comprehension of genetics and biology.
Imagery
The description of the human skeleton and its comparison to the bridge in the seventh chapter depicts sight imagery. The images of how the nervous system develops enhance sight to aid readers in seeing the entire process.
Paradox
The major satire is that a human being's head is similar to that of a worm. Ironically, there is no physical resemblance between worms and human beings.
Parallelism
Human biology and genetics are parallel to sea creatures.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The worms are incarnated when the author says that their heads are similar.
