Genre
Sports biography
Setting and Context
The book is set in Tennessee and Mississippi during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Narrator and Point of View
The book is told from a third-person point of view and alternates between Michael's story and the parallel narrative of the evolution of the left tackle position.
Tone and Mood
The tone of the book is sincere but incisive, showing sympathy for Michael and the Tuohys but treating football culture with skepticism. The mood is poignant.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Michael Oher is the protagonist of the story. There is no specified antagonist although Lewis frequently critiques the systemic racism that is deeply enmeshed in Southern society.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the story is Michael's struggle to overcome his difficult upbringing and excel in football despite the pressures placed on him by its culture.
Climax
The climax of the book occurs when Michael gets into a fight with one of his teammates and accidentally injures a child in the process.
Foreshadowing
Michael's panicked reaction to S.J. being injured in a car accident foreshadows the later injury of a young child during the fight he has with Antonio.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The book alludes to the Alfred Lord Tennyson poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" in a scene where Michael is studying.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is parallelism between John Ayers' defense against Lawrence Taylor and Michael's eventual collision with Dwight Feeney, as they are both inheritors of Ayers and Taylor's styles of play.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
