Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
The book is set in California during the 1960s.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Suspicious, experiential, optimistic, courageous
Protagonist and Antagonist
Miles and Carole are the main protagonists of the story.
Major Conflict
When Carole and Miles go to Mexico for exploration, things turn out tragic because they are abused, insulted and exposed to criminals.
Climax
The climax is when Miles and Carole realize that their anticipated happy vacation was not practical, and they remember that home is the best place to be.
Foreshadowing
Miles and Carole’s drug addiction foreshadows their troubled future.
Understatement
Carole and Miles underestimated their vacation when they assumed that it was going to be joyous and exciting. However, it turned out tragic and dangerous.
Allusions
The story alludes to drug addiction and crime.
Imagery
Sight imagery is depicted when the author writes, “He was followed into the room by a tall, skinny hippie with a thick Indian nose and slanted eyelids—wearing a sleeveless Mexican vest, made out of wool, with fancy designs on it-whose sallow skin and long hair and beard made him like a movie version of a Mormon preacher.”
Paradox
The paradox is that Miles, Carole and their friend decide to test the acid to compare its effects to marijuana. The reader finds it satirical that these characters risk trying the acid despite the danger it poses to their health.
Parallelism
The storyline about criminal activities is parallel to drug addiction.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Drug addiction is personified as satanic.
