Genre
Short story
Setting and Context
Hadleyburg in the 1890s.
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator.
Tone and Mood
The tone is tense; the mood is uneasy.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Edward is the protagonist; the Reverend is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the narrative occurs when the people that live in Hadleyburg offend a stranger that is passing through and he plans to get his revenge.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when the mysterious sack containing 160 pounds of coins made of gold is dropped off.
Foreshadowing
The frantic guessing of the villagers is foreshadowed by their desire to get the gold.
Understatement
The role of hope is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the consequences that come as a result of our actions.
Imagery
The imagery of the wonderful gold coins is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that the villagers think the stranger is kind, yet he wishes to corrupt them is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The gold is a metonym for greed.
Personification
N/A
