Genre
Short Story
Setting and Context
Japan, WWII
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person omniscient
Tone and Mood
Tone: solemn, anxious, meditative
Mood: worried, restless, determined
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonists: Sadao and Hana Antagonist: Tom
Major Conflict
Will Sadao treat his enemy and save his life even though he might be punished?
Climax
Sadao sends Tom out to the abandoned island, realizing he cannot have him at the house anymore.
Foreshadowing
N/A.
Understatement
"Come, are we able to put him back into the sea?" is an understatement for letting the man die
Allusions
1. There are numerous allusions to WWII, such as the Americans being enemies, fighting in the war, etc.
2. Manchuria: one of the territories Japan conquered in its effort to expand its empire
Imagery
Buck does not use a lot of imagery in this story, but she does give us images of physical and mental suffering to show what racism, nationalism, and war do to the body and mind.
Paradox
N/A.
Parallelism
N/A.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A.
Personification
1. "mists...come creeping up the beach"
2. "But his trained hands seemed of their own will to be doing what they could to stanch the fearful bleeding"
3. "Then the sea caught him and wounded him with her rocks"
