Genre
Novel; environmental fiction, literary fiction
Setting and Context
The Sundarbans, in India
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person limited, switching back and forth between focusing on Kanai and Piya
Tone and Mood
Contemplative, hopeful
Protagonist and Antagonist
Piyali Roy and Kanai Dutt are the protagonists of the story, while the government and the natural world are the antagonists.
Major Conflict
People vs. nature is the most prominent conflict, as seen in the struggles of the characters to control the natural world around them. People vs. the government is a secondary conflict as Piya, Fokir, and Nirmal and the refugees navigate a hostile system that doesn't prioritize the lives of the poor.
Climax
The cyclone and Fokir’s death
Foreshadowing
The early mention that some have come to Lusibari from islands evacuated to preserve wildlife foreshadows the novel's major conflict between conservation and human lives.
Kusum's spirit telling Fokir that they will be reunited soon foreshadows Fokir's death.
Understatement
Allusions
The whole novel alludes to the Morichjhãpi massacre, a historical event. There are also allusions to the One Thousand and One Nights, the Mahabharata, and the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke.
Imagery
Paradox
Parallelism
The novel draws parallels between the love triangle between Kusum, Nirmal, and Horen and the one between Piya, Kanai, and Fokir.
