Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
Set in the context of the Piper family
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Sad, Pessimistic, disheartening, hopeless
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is James Piper.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that James is sexually attracted to his older daughter.
Climax
The climax comes towards the end when it is discovered that James is the biological father of Lily.
Foreshadowing
James Piper’s sexual attraction to his elder daughter is foreshadowed by his first love for Materia when she was only 13 years old.
Understatement
Catholicism is understated in the text. Although Frances and her mother are devout Catholics, Catholicism is not about fanaticism.
Allusions
The story alludes to the challenges and moments James Piper’s family goes through.
Imagery
The images of tragedy and death in Piper’s family depict sight imagery which aids readers to see the unfortunate events unfolding in the family.
Paradox
The irony of sexual attraction towards the daughter is dominant in the text. The reader finds it satirical that a father is sexually attracted to his daughter.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Baptism is a metonymy for salivation and rebirth in religious beliefs.
Personification
N/A
