Blood River Literary Elements

Travel Writing

The Congo, Cemtral Africa, in the twenty-first cwntury

The author is also the narrator and he tells the story of his expedition from his own point of view

Threatening and dangerous; peaceful and thought provoking

The author is the protagonist, the elements are the antagonists, including ants, crocodiles and also guerilla soldiers

The Congo is constantly involved in conflict and this is one of the themes of the book in that guerrilla soldiers are in conflict with the government of the time

The climax of the book is also the climax of the journey when Butcher safely reaches the end of his trip

The author notes that all the time he sees remnants of progress that has fails. This foreshadows the fact that this is a cycle and that any progress will be destroyed by the social and political situation

The journey is described as a challenge at the start of the book which is an understatement since everyone but the author realizes it is dangerous and some say it is a suicidal mission

The author alludes to the wars that occurred during the troubled history of the country

The imagery feeds the visual senses with rich description of the Congo River but also appeals to the other senses too - the sounds and smells of the area are also described in great detail

The author knows this is a dangerous journey and he decides to research it thoroughly but rather than researching other travelers' or journalists' work and experiences he studies Katherine Hepburn's "African Queen" journal and also talked to his mother about her childhood in Colonial Africa

There is an intended parallel between the journey that Butcher undertakes and the journey that inspired him undertaken by Stanley.

The Colonials is the name used to represent the English and other Europeans who governed Congo pre-independence

The Congo River is constantly personifies and said to be conspiring against travelers along it which gives it the ability to plan and plot which as a body of water it doesn't have