Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
Set in 1989 in Colombo, Sir Lanka.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative point of view
Tone and Mood
Disheartening, tense, and optimistic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Maali and the antagonist the government minister.
Major Conflict
There is a major conflict between Maali and the government, which oppresses people through violence and unlawful detentions.
Climax
The climax comes when Maali gathers enough evidence through photography to expose the violence in Sri Lanka.
Foreshadowing
Maali’s fear of detention foreshadows his death.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
The descriptions of Maali’s photographs depict the sense of sight to readers. The photographs inside the cardboard box are epic, and they capture real events that took place in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the imagery in this context is significant because it exposes the government's brutality amidst the violence that rocked Sri Lanka.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Maali wakes up dead, but he can still think about what steps to take next to ensure he exposes the violence of Sri Lanka. Ironically, a dead man can still think and strategize how to expose the government.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between Maali’s decision to be an activist and his choice of being gay and an atheist.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The World Bank is used as a metonymy for global monetary power that controls governments.
Personification
The columns of stone Buddhas are personified when the author says that they stare at the dead floating bodies without any interest.
