Genre
A novel
Setting and Context
The actions take place in a dystopian future, the place in the North of Australia.
Narrator and Point of View
The storytelling is presented by variety of points of view. It shifts from the third person omnipresent, to the inner monologues of the characters. The presence of the author is felt through the entire novel; thus, the narrator is Alexis Wright herself.
Tone and Mood
The tone is supernatural and mysterious combined with pessimistic mood.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Oblivia.
Major Conflict
The major conflicts of the novel concern Australian political and cultural life within the nation. And the minor conflicts concern Australian-European relationships, colonialism and foreign policies.
Climax
The climax comes when Bella Donna dies.
Foreshadowing
In the novel’s opening passage, the author says that in her brain “lives this kind of cut snake virus…, which sits there on the couch and keeps a good old qui vive out the windows for intruders.” Such a declaration foreshadows that the plot will disclose what this virus is.
Understatement
The idea of spreading colonial paradigms beyond the boundaries of Australia is being developed in the novel, but is not fully articulated.
Allusions
The novel contains allusions to the European and White traditions and beliefs.
Imagery
Images of characters, the environment, and nature are depicted in the novel.
Paradox
One paradox is the intertwining of reality and folklore.
Parallelism
Though the plot of the novel lacks linear narration, the present, past, and future are revealed in parallels.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“The cold eye staring straight into hers, made the girl feel exposed, hunted and found” (“the cold eye” is the metonymy for the swan)
Personification
The black swan is the personification of Central Australia’s people, while the white swan is the personification of the Europeans.
