Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
Set in Croatia
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person point of view
Tone and Mood
The tone is tense, and the mood is horrific and disheartening.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is a ten-year-old Ana Juric.
Major Conflict
The conflict comes when the Civil War erupts in Zagreb, forcing Ana's family to adapt to the challenges beforehand.
Climax
The climax comes in the second part of the book when Ana is in America trying to chase her dream in college. However, she is depressed and haunted by the past that robbed her childhood.
Foreshadowing
Ana’s uneventful future is foreshadowed by the Civil War that broke in Zagreb when she was only ten years old.
Understatement
The negative impact of the Civil on Ana’s life is understated.
Allusions
The story alludes to the negative effects of war on innocent citizens, especially children, and women.
Imagery
Before the Civil War, life in Croatia is described using sight imagery to show readers how Ana lived a carefree life. However, when the Civil War began, all people were forced to adapt to the new challenging circumstances.
Paradox
The paradox of patriotism in Croatia is evident after the civil war. Instead of people uniting to help each other, neighbors turn against each other, making their life more unbearable.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between Ana’s current struggles in New York and the past events that disrupted her childhood.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
War is incarnated as futile.
