Genre
Drama, Comedy
Language
English, Ojibway, Cree
Setting and Context
The Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Late Summer, 1986
Narrator and Point of View
Tone and Mood
Comedic, Dramatic, Melancholic, Absurd, Surreal, Contemplative
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonists are Paljia, Philomena, Marie-Adele, Annie, Emily, Veronique and Zhaboonigan, There is no clear antagonist
Major Conflict
The women all learn of the "biggest bingo in the world" in Toronto and want to go to try to win the $500,000 jackpot, all while dealing with their own personal issues.
Climax
The climax occurs at the bingo night in Toronto, a wild affair that culminates in the death of Marie-Adele.
Foreshadowing
Annie talking about the "biggest bingo in the world" foreshadows the women going to Toronto; allusions to Marie-Adele's disease foreshadow her untimely death.
Understatement
Many of the traumas that the women have faced or continue to face are understated.
Allusions
Allusions to Christianity, to Indigenous spirituality, to popular music.
Imagery
Nanabush is one particularly striking image through, the living embodiment of a spirit.
Paradox
Parallelism
Pelajia on the roof at the end of the play parallels her there at the very beginning.
Personification
Nanabush is personified as a seagull throughout.
Use of Dramatic Devices
Soliloquies, surreal montages, monologues, theatricalized representations of set pieces and scenarios.
