Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
A cotton plantation in the Deep South in America
Narrator and Point of View
Predominantly third-person limited narration, with several point-of-view shifts.
Tone and Mood
Lyrical, dreamy, romantic tone; dark and tragic mood.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are Samuel and Isaiah.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between Isaiah and Samuel's love and the social order of the plantation.
Climax
The climax comes when Isaiah and Samuel part ways at the end of the novel, signifying that each character has chosen to follow their own path.
Foreshadowing
The explosive ending is foreshadowed by several undercurrents of tension and dissatisfaction that permeate throughout the characters' perspectives. Samuel's anger toward the toubab only festers, while Amos continues to stir up animosity towards the barn and its occupants. Paul's economic consideration of Samuel and Isaiah's failure to procreate with the female slaves is another line of conflict and tension.
Understatement
The sexual intimacy between people of the same gender is understated.
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Several concepts are often personified, such as the month of July, the night sky, and memory.
