1776 Literary Elements

Historical novel

The action takes place in the year 1775 and is situated in England and America.

The events are recalled by a third person objective narrator.

Neutral

The protagonist is George Washington and the antagonist is King George the III and his troops.

The major conflict is between the British leaders and the American ones and the reason why there started a war between the two groups is because the Americans wanted to declare their independence from the British Empire.

The story reaches its climax when Washington and his troops win three consecutive battles against the British.

When the narrator mentions the Ancient Roman Empire, it is foreshadowed the end of the British Empire.

In the first chapter, it is revealed that many members of the Parliament did not saw the war on the American soil as being dangerous because they saw the rebels as being inoffensive and powerless. This however proves to be an understatement as it is later revealed.

The narrator alludes many times that in the British army, the people in command were not chosen because of their aptitudes but because they were from aristocrat families and thus their family’s name provided them with a secure place. This made them however unsuited for the jobs they had and the failure of the British Empire was largely the result of the fact that the British were too proud to accept someone who was not from the aristocrat class as a leader.

In the first chapter, the characters are careful to describe the British army in positive terms, making it seem as the most capable army in the world. The characters put their faith in the British army and for them, victory is certain. The way the British army is depicted is important because in the first chapter, the reader is presented with a romanticized image and idea about war and the troops taking part in the said war. The truth about the war and about the troops participating is however revealed in the other chapters.

King George the III remains in history known as the Mad King. His bad reputation is what he is known for today but paradoxically, this was not how he was known during the years her ruled England. He was considered as being a rather boring man and lacking any type of extraordinary qualities.

Parallelism: In the first chapter, the narrator mentions that one of the men who heard King George’s discourse was Edward Gibbon who at the time was working on a book about the history of the Roman Empire. In fact, Edward mentions his book when he speaks with another man present at the meeting. What the author does here is draw a parallel between the Roman Empire and the British one by using Gibbon’s book as a starting point. The fact is that there are many similarities between the two empires, their development and their fall and the parallel between the two also has the purpose of predicting how the British Empire will end.

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