Genre
Fictional novel
Setting and Context
The action in the novel takes place in the 20th century in America.
Narrator and Point of View
The action is told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood in the story is a neutral one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Mero and the antagonist is his father's girlfriend.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the novel is between the father and the son and the reason why the conflict arose is that the two were in love with the same woman.
Climax
The novel reaches its climax when Mero decides to return home after an absence of a few decades.
Foreshadowing
The description of the dead animals at the beginning of the novel foreshadows the future difficulties the main character will have to deal with.
Understatement
When Mero claims that the only reason why he left home is because of his father's girlfriend is an understatement because he later reveals that he had to deal with a large number of problems.
Allusions
The idea that Mero wanted a girlfriend of his own is used here as a way of alluding to the idea that Mero wanted to have his own path and to have a life independent of that of his father's.
Imagery
One of the most important imageries is that of a cave painting depicting female genitalia. This image is important because it marks the main character's sexual awakening.
Paradox
One of the paradoxical ideas is the way in which the main character is quick to return home even though he claims he hates his living relative.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The barren and empty land is used here as a general way to make reference to the harsh nature of life.
Personification
We have a personification in the sentence "the farm was the same, a silent mastodon sitting in the restless sun".
