The Rector of Justin Literary Elements

Fiction

The novel is set in Boston in 1965.

The novel is told from the third-person point of view.

The novel’s tone is easygoing and the mood is peaceful.

The story's protagonist is Prescott, and the adversary is David.

Prescott’s daughters are angry at him because he does not empower women. Prescott is determined to uplift boys in society by building a boys’ boarding school. Prescott has only female children, but is not interested in fighting for their rights or empowering them. Therefore, the daughters confront their father because he favors only men.

The novel’s climax is when Prescott achieves his long-term dream of building a boarding school for boys. While growing up, Prescott was educated in a boy’s boarding school, and vowed to start his school, which he actualized later in his life.

David Griscam’s dedication to uplifting boys in society foreshadowed the construction of Episcopalian boys’ boarding school.

There is an understatement when the narrator says Prescott has a little proclivity to homosexuality.

The novel alludes to Wayne Dyer’s story, “Manifest Your Destiny,” which encourages people to follow their dreams. Prescott follows his dream of building a boys’ boarding school.

The explanation of the set-up of Episcopalian boys’ boarding school paints a picture of precision. The narrator says the school’s headmaster designed the institution to represent perfection and excellence.

The primary paradox in the novel is the decision of Prescott to ignore his daughters' complains about his choice of favoring boys over girls. The reader realizes that Prescott only has daughters, but instead of building a school for girls, he builds a boarding school for boys. Making matters worse, he does nothing to empower his daughters, which creates hatred between him and his daughters.

There are two incidences of parallelism in the novel. The first incident is when Prescott gives hints that he is homosexual in an interview, and the second incident is when Cordelia says that her father has a romantic relationship with Charley.

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