Genre
YA fiction
Setting and Context
Sycamore Township, Indiana in 1904.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narration by fifteen-year-old Russell Culver.
Tone and Mood
The tone is lightly ironic but the overall mood is sentimental and humorous.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Russell Culver. Antagonist: Tansy Culver, Russell’s 17-year-old sister who has taken over the position of teacher.
Major Conflict
The conflict driving the narrative is that between Russell and Tansy which is stimulated by his negative feelings toward her becoming his teacher.
Climax
The last in a series of practical jokes that Russell pulls on his sister almost threatens her removal but ultimately contributes to Tansy actually receiving a provisional teaching certificate.
Foreshadowing
On the first day of school, Russell pulls a prank on his sister by muffling the sound of the bell which alerts students. This prank foreshadows the multiple others which he pulls and sets the stage for the climactic one which almost costs Tansy her dream of being a teacher permanently.
Understatement
After getting thumped on the head, the narrator uses understatement to convey the power of his sister’s punishment. “There was no arthritis in her elbows.”
Allusions
n/a
Imagery
The narrator uses imagery to punctuate his straightforward assertion that August in Indiana gets very hot. “An old horsethief from just over in Putnam County died and went down to Hades. And he sent back for a blanket. That’s the kind of heat we were used to.”
Paradox
n/a
Parallelism
The narrator describes the strange ritualistic appearance poems from an unknown poet known only as the Sweet Singer using parallel construction. “It might be topical. It might be seasonal. It might be
a warning outright.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“But she had chalk dust in her veins, and she deserved to get that certificate” describes Tansy in which chalk is a metonym encapsulating the entire teaching experience.
Personification
n/z
