Genre
Short stories collection
Setting and Context
The stories are set in the Central Valley of California.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is somber and the mood is frightening.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are Elisa, Harry and Saint
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the story ‘Flight’ is when Mama Torres’ son, Pepe, stabs someone to death. Pepe is later shot dead as well.
Climax
The climax is in the story 'Breakfast', where the narrator wakes up to find a beautiful woman with an infant preparing breakfast. The narrator is invited by strangers to join them in making breakfast, and this most memorable event the narrator lives to remember.
Foreshadowing
In the story 'Vigilante,' the lynching of the black man foreshadows racism and discrimination against marginalized groups.
Understatement
The marriage between Jim and Jelka is understated in the story 'The murder.' Marrying a foreign partner should not be considered a crime.
Allusions
The story 'Saint Katy the Virgin' alludes to most people's desires to see others fail in life.
Imagery
The images of flora and fauna in California paint a picture of the beauty of the environment, thus, depicting sight imagery.
Paradox
In the story ‘The White Quail,’ the man intentionally kills the quail that his wife admires and adores.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The killing of the quail is a metonymy referring to a human's desire to heart the inner peace of others.
Personification
The visitation of birds is personified. Mary waits for the birds to visit her and allow them to take a bath in her garden.
