Genre
Investigative Novel
Setting and Context
The novel is set in the 18th century in the context of criminal justice.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrative in Judge Dee’s point of view
Tone and Mood
Curious, factfinding
Protagonist and Antagonist
Judge Dee is the protagonist of the book.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is when Judge Dee encounters Mrs. Djou while on his way to meet Mrs. Bee. It turns out that Mrs. Djow was responsible for her son's death, and the Chinese law punishes her harshly.
Climax
The climax comes when the reader realizes that Judge Dee uses torture to compel the criminals to confess.
Foreshadowing
Warden Pang discovers a couple of corpses foreshadows random incidents of explosive anger in the community in which people are focused on revenge rather than following the applicable justice system.
Understatement
The death of Dee is understated. It is later revealed that he never died from a natural illness.
Allusions
The three cases discussed in the book allude to the investigative nature of detectives.
Imagery
The imagery of innocence, guilt, death, and power is all over the three cases to catch the reader's attention.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Judge Dee is an investigative officer always surrounded by his aids. Therefore, it beats logic that a person surrounded by aides can execute interrogations and private investigations.
Parallelism
There is no specific example of parallelism.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The phrase ‘Conventional notions’ is a metonymy which refers to an individual’s superiority.
Personification
The Chinese law is personified when it is given the human attribute of harshness.
