Genre
Memoir
Setting and Context
The memoir is written in the context of the narrator’s complex relationship with his mother.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Mournful, miserable, cynical, ominous, indignant
Protagonist and Antagonist
Sherman Alexie is the protagonist of the memoir.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is when Sherman is hit by a bottle can by his mother on the head, and she does not care whether he is injured. The mother is super alcoholic and abusive, and she does not show any love to Sherman.
Climax
The climax is when Sherman learns that he is a product of rape, which is why his mother hates him. However, Sherman forgives his mother and decides not to hear the relatives' disputes about his birth.
Foreshadowing
The rape incident foreshadowed Lilian's lifetime hatred towards her infant son, Sherman.
Understatement
Motherly hatred is understated in the text. Despite Sherman being a product of rape, Lilian has no moral right to mistreat her child.
Allusions
The story alludes to depression associated with rape and childbearing. For instance, Lilian is depressed, and she expresses her frustrations towards her son, Sherman, by abusing him more often.
Imagery
The imagery of the rape culture is prevalent throughout the memoir. For instance, the readers learn that Lilian's mother was a product of rape for her to be born. Similarly, Lilian is raped to give birth to Sherman. The imagery of rape provides readers insight into why rape is reserved in the culture where the author is born.
Paradox
The paradox of parenting is prevalent throughout the memoir. Lilian is a parent, but she decides to express her frustrations towards her son instead of showing him love. Sherman is an innocent child who does not know that his mother's pregnancy resulted from rape.
Parallelism
The rape culture parallels the author’s daily life.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Rape is incarnated as a reservation in the culture where Sherman was born.
