Genre
Memoir
Setting and Context
Set in 2007 in the United States of America
Narrator and Point of View
First-person point of view
Tone and Mood
Enlightening and optimistic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Egil "Bud" Krogh, and the antagonists are the perpetrators of the Watergate scandal.
Major Conflict
The major conflict occurs when Krogh is indicted in the Watergate scandal.
Climax
The climax comes when Krogh reflects on his life in prison and learns important lessons about integrity in leadership.
Foreshadowing
Krogh’s involvement in the Watergate scandal foreshadows his imprisonment.
Understatement
n/a
Allusions
The memoir alludes to Singogo and Grynberg’s "Anatomy of grand fraud: Goldenberg Scandal and the World Bank, " Africa's biggest corruption scandal in the 1990s. Many powerful politicians and business people were indicted in the scandal.
Imagery
The description of the oval office depicts the sense of sight to readers. The author says, "A large eagle was woven into the center of the blue rug, and another was emblazoned in the plaster of the ceiling." The imagery paints a picture of Krogh's authority while in his office.
Paradox
The central paradox in the memoir is that Egil Krogh, who was convicted in the Watergate scandal, educates people about ethical conduct in a public office where he failed.
Parallelism
n/a
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The White House is a metonymy for the executive branch of government in the United States of America.
Personification
The Watergate scandal is personified when the author says it was a monster that ate his people.
