Genre
Memoir
Setting and Context
The memoir is set in the 1950s in the context of the narrator's life.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narration in Tobias Wolf’s point of view
Tone and Mood
Somber, violent, resentful, annoying
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Tobias Wolf.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is when Toby is born, and his father abandons his mother for another wealthy woman. Toby lives a miserable life after that.
Climax
The climax is when, despite his bad behavior, Jack gets admission to study in a college. Jack dreams of being a novelist despite his dark past.
Foreshadowing
The separation between Tobias’ father and mother foreshadowed his dark future.
Understatement
The marital issues Rosemary goes through are understated. Tobias’s father moves on with life, and he marries a wealthy woman. Rosemary, on the other hand, moves with various boyfriends who subject Tobias to misery and suffering.
Allusions
The story alludes to the challenges of marriage and childbearing. For instance, Tobias lacks the love and guidance of a father and ends up being a liar and criminal.
Imagery
The bowling of an air horn when the narrator's mother's car boiled depicts the sense of hearing.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Jack’s mother is not up to the task of parenting. She is focused on making money and having new boyfriends at the expense of her son’s education and future.
Parallelism
The story of Rosemary’s sexual affairs parallels with her ex-husband.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The truck’s trailer is personified when the narrator says that it shimmed wildly.
