Genre
Nonfiction
Setting and Context
Harvard University in 1970
Narrator and Point of View
Lionel Trilling narrates the book in the first-person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is authoritative and powerful; the mood is convincing and encouraging.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Lionel Trilling is the protagonist; morality is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the book occurs when Trilling examines the period of time before the Age of Enlightenment.
Climax
The climax of the book is reached when Lionel Trilling meticulously defines what sincerity and authenticity pertain to.
Foreshadowing
The series of arguments made are foreshadowed by the fact that Trilling made a series of lectures and Harvard University.
Understatement
The role that literature plays in defining the world is understated throughout the book.
Allusions
The book alludes to staying true to yourself, no matter what.
Imagery
The imagery of defining what a moral life consists of is present in the novel.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Trilling's life research and dedication and the level of exploration that the subject matter is given in the book.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The average person is personified through the moral analogies that Trilling uses in his book.
