Genre
Young adult
Setting and Context
Mississippi, in 1955
Narrator and Point of View
Hiram Hillburn narrates the story in the first-person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is sad; the mood is depressing.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Hiram is the protagonist; racism is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Emmett Till is tragically abducted and then murdered shortly afterwards.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Till's trial begins and the murderers are seen from Hiram's perspective.
Foreshadowing
The murder of Emmett is foreshadowed by the fact that he is black.
Understatement
The role that racism plays is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the violence against African-Americans at the time.
Imagery
The imagery of Till's brutal murder is present in the novel.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the treatment of Till and the experience of countless African-Americans at the time.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The rope is a metonym for the death of Emmett Till.
Personification
N/A
