Genre
Science Fiction Short Stories
Setting and Context
The short stories are written in the context of society and politics.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Humorous, suspicious, informative, intriguing
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Tranh.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the story 'Pocketful of Dharma' is when the street orphan comes across a 'data' cube that everyone desires to attain. The conflict is that the destruction of the cube spells doom for the entire geographical region. The conflict in 'The Fluted Girl is the arrival of the Fiefdoms who want to control the world using their wealth.
Climax
The climax in ‘The people of sand and Slag’ is the realization that these people are normal creatures like humans or dogs.
Foreshadowing
The arrival of the Fiefdoms in style foreshadows doom for the local people because life will be very difficult.
Understatement
The capability and significance of the powerful entities such as multinational enteritis in ‘The Calorie Man’ are understated. For instance, despite these powerful entities being great influencers, they create employment and fuel economic growth globally.
Allusions
The short stories in the collection allude to the significance of research and the positive enhancement of society.
Imagery
Sight imagery is depicted when the author describes the watch in the story 'Yellow Card Man’. For instance, the author writes, “a fine chronograph, ancient, gold and diamonds—Rolex. From an earlier time.” Consequently, the person wearing this watch must hold a high status in society.
Paradox
In 'The Fluted Girl, it is Paradoxical that Stephen thanks his executors. Stephen is aware that he is about to be executed by the people before him. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he decides to thank the executors for killing him.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
'Fiefdoms' refers to powerful and wealthy elites who can spend twice on any regular purchase product.
Personification
N/A
