Genre
Autobiography
Setting and Context
The action described here takes place in Germany and it starts when the narrator is 8 years old and continues until present time.
Narrator and Point of View
The events are told from the perspective of a first-person subjective point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood in the book are neutral.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is identified as being rationality and the antagonist is the idea of religion.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is an internal one and is identified as being between self-doubt and the narrator's confidence.
Climax
The autobiography reaches its climax when the narrator realizes that he is unwilling to accept conventional religious ideas.
Foreshadowing
The disagreements the narrator had with his father in his childhood foreshadows the falling out between the two which will occur during the narrator's adulthood.
Understatement
Darwin quotes his father as saying that he will never do anything with his life. This is proven to be an understatement as the narrator ends up being one of the most acclaimed scientists of modern times.
Allusions
One of the main allusions we find here is the idea that those who believe in God are less intelligent when compared to those who don't.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
One of the most paradoxical ideas is the fact that Darwin's father planned to make his son a clergyman. This idea is ironic because Darwin grew up to destroy the possibility that there is a God and to promote the idea of evolution.
Parallelism
A parallel is drawn between the narrator and his sister. This parallel is important because it highlights the different expectations when it came to men and women, and it shows that Darwin felt immense pressure from his family to become successful.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The Bible is used in the autobiography as a general term that indicates a somewhat problematic set of ideas.
Personification
We have a personification in the line "the sea punched us from every direction".
