Genre
Psychological fictional novel
Setting and Context
Set in 2009 in an unidentified American city
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Optimistic, disheartening, and melancholic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Cameron.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between Cameron and Tariq. Tariq questions Cameron's authority to command the group trapped in the basement of a building after an earthquake strikes. Cameron insists that he has the survival training skills to help the trapped people survive while waiting for rescue.
Climax
The climax comes when Uma suggests telling stories about their lives instead of worrying about the danger before them. The stories are refreshing, and they help in comforting the group. They all realize that they are one despite their differences.
Foreshadowing
Mr. Pritchett’s love for numbers foreshadowed his success in life, which helped him to abandon poverty.
Understatement
Tariq underestimates Cameron's ability to lead the group trapped in the basement. He is shocked to learn that Cameron has critical life-saving skills, which helped the group survive as they waited for rescue.
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
Towards the novel's end, noises of rescue are heard from the above floors, which gives hope to the people in the basement. However, there is fear that the increasing noises from above could mean the building is crumbling. The noises heard depict the sense of hearing to readers.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Tariq thinks he is the hero of the trapped group but later acknowledges that Cameron and Uma are smarter because they demonstrate better skills in keeping people calm and optimistic.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The Canterbury tales are used as a metonymy for comfort.
Personification
Numbers are personified when Mr. Pritchett says they fell in love with him and helped him escape poverty.
