Out of the Easy Literary Elements

Historical Fiction / Young Adult

The novel is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the 1950s.

First-person point of view from the perspective of the protagonist, Josie Moraine.

Witty, Sincere, Discontented, Optimistic

Protagonist: Josie Moraine. Antagonist: Cincinnati and also the stigma of prostitution and temptations in “The Big Easy”.

As a daughter of a prostitute Josie aims to chart her own destiny different from what her surrounding has to offer. Though she plans to attend college for higher education she lacks enough funds to facilitate the endeavor.

The climax of the novel reaches when Forrest’s autopsy reveals that his death is actually a homicide of which is connected to Josie’s mother and her undertakings with Cincinnati.

“Decisions, they shape our destiny…Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else”

Forrest’s statement and the quotation from Dickens’ David Copperfield foreshadow the choices that lay ahead for Josie that will determine her fate.

“My mother’s a prostitute. Not the filthy, streetwalking kind. She’s actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.”

In the opening sentence of the narrative, Josie uses an understated tone to disclose the truth about her mother that would otherwise be harder to reveal.

Set in New Orleans the story alludes to several elements about the scene including the architecture, music vibrance and festivals like Mardi Gras,

“A long red carpet ran from the front door to a tall staircase, crawling up and over each step. The house was opulent, gaudy, with deep green brocades and lamps with black crystals dangling from dimly lit shades. Paintings of nude women with pink nipples hung from the foyer walls. Cigarette smoke mingled with stale Eau de Rose.”

The women around Josie engage in prostitution but they wish her a different life that is better than this stigmatized line of work. However, their lives seem desirable because of the money involved and the allure of their lifestyle.

N/A

“You’re salted peanuts, and those people out East are petits fours. Don’t be cliché, thinking you’re going to be Orphan Annie, who winds up in some kind of castle.”

“The wind blew, and the tarty smell of the yellow Mississippi lapped against my face, lifting the ends of my hair. I heard the cry of a saxophone down the bank and could see the twinkling lights of the steamboat President”