Salvatore

Salvatore Literary Elements

Genre

Short story; literary fiction.

Setting and Context

The story is set in the early twentieth century on an unnamed island off the southern coast of Italy.

Narrator and Point of View

The story is narrated by an unnamed first-person narrator who uses a third-person narration for the majority of the story. The point of view shifts between the narrator and Salvatore.

Tone and Mood

The tone is contemplative and heartwarming; the mood is subdued.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist is Salvatore; the antagonist is the girl who rejects him.

Major Conflict

The major conflict in the story is that Salvatore cannot marry the girl he loves because she and her family reject him after learning of his debilitating rheumatism.

Climax

The story reaches its climax when Salvatore marries Assunta and cultivates a happy, humble home life with her.

Foreshadowing

Understatement

Allusions

Imagery

Paradox

Parallelism

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Personification