Genre
Modern Fiction
Setting and Context
Islands off the coast of California, present day
Narrator and Point of View
Third person point of view telling the story from the perspectives of both Alma and Dave without coming down on behalf of either side
Tone and Mood
Challenging, contentious, depressing, despairing, angry
Protagonist and Antagonist
Both Dave and Alma play both roles, playing antagonist to each other's protagonist
Major Conflict
The major conflict goes throughout the book and is between Alma and Dave as Dave attempts to sabotage the work Alma is doing and Alma tries to get the work done before Dave had a chance to do anything about it.
Climax
Dave's realization that anger is what forms the core of his being is the climax for his character as he realizes a person cannot be cured of or treated for what they inherently are
Foreshadowing
Dave's bizarre enjoyment when he sabotaged the rat poison foreshadows the more violent and dangerous turn that his anger is about to take
Understatement
Dave wonders if his jubilation following his sabotage of the rat poison is a sign that he has always had a problem with anger which understates the level of bubbling and extreme rage that he experiences
Allusions
The author/narrator alludes to a quote that states that every day is Auschwitz for the animals which alludes to the genicide of a group or species that is also what is occurring in the environment
Imagery
Dave expresses the opinion that Alma is making herself in the image of God by deciding which creatures deserve to line and which do no
Paradox
Dave thinks that Alma is playing God but cannot see the paradox in his thinking as he is also playing God by rescuing certain animals and relocating them rather than leaving natural selection to enable them to save themselves
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the original goals of Alma and Dave's group - saving the environment- yet not a parallel between the way they try to achieve their objectives
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The island is used as a term to mean all of the inhabitants of the island not the land mass itself
Personification
The island is personified throughout the novel and given the attribute of wanting to regenerate and return to its pre-man condition
