Genre
Thriller fiction
Setting and Context
A passenger ship traveling between Germany and Mexico, before the Second World War
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator.
Tone and Mood
The tone is depressing; the mood is melancholic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Elsa is the protagonist; the harsh sea is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Mrs Treadwell sets out on her journey to Paris in search of her lost happiness.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Jenny meets a school of dolphins while she is alone and swimming near the Gulf of Mexico.
Foreshadowing
The musician's happiness to escape the ship is foreshadowed by his sea-sickness.
Understatement
The role of prejudices is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the search for a utopia that many of us seek in our lives.
Imagery
The imagery of the harsh, punishing waves is present in the novel.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Elsa's naivety about the world and her simple upbringing.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The dangerous world is personified through the treacherous waters that they sail through.
