Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
The book is written in the context of the immigrant experience.
Narrator and Point of View
Mark Berman is the narrator of the story, and it is written from his point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone is apathetic and the mood is romantic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Berman family is the protagonist of the story.
Major Conflict
According to cultural beliefs, the conflict is when Mark Berman engages in a sexual relationship with Natasha, his cousin. Natasha is the stepdaughter of Mark's uncle. Therefore, it is taboo for Mark and Natasha to be in a sexual relationship.
Climax
The climax is when Mark Berman feels that he can do anything he wants and defies the Jewish traditions.
Foreshadowing
While he was a young boy, John's isolation behavior foreshadowed his future defiance of the Jewish customs. The reader later realizes that Mark never liked the idea of being a Jew in the first place.
Understatement
Natasha and Mark's romantic relationship is understated. Mark believes that he is not related to Natasha biologically because she is his step-cousin, and there is no blood connection between them.
Allusions
The story alludes to the life of an immigrant and the struggles one has to endure to survive.
Imagery
The imagery of Mark's isolation in the basement paints a picture of his early defiance of Jewish customs. The reader sees that Mark never liked the idea of being a Jew, and he preferred to hang out with other bad influencers who taught him how to take drugs.
Paradox
The sexual relationship between Natasha and Mark is paradoxical because it is unacceptable.
Parallelism
The defiance of the Jewish cultural norms by Mark parallels immigrants’ ambition to survive.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
