Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
1962 California, where being publicly homosexual was not accepted and when gay men lived "under the radar" to gain social acceptance
Narrator and Point of View
Third person narrator telling the story from George's point of view
Tone and Mood
Hopeless and depressing, devoid of present or future joy
Protagonist and Antagonist
George is the protagonist. Jim is the antagonist in that his death has rendered George suicidal
Major Conflict
There is constant conflict between George and Charley because she thinks his relationship with Jim was a trial run for the real relationship he should be having with her. George knows this is not the case.
Climax
As George decides to live and abandons his plan to commit suicide he suffers a huge heart attack and dies suddenly
Foreshadowing
Jim's death foreshadows George's increased isolation and sense of hopelessness
Understatement
George says that he finds it hard to be without Jim, which is an understatement shown by the fact he wants to kill himself so that he can be reunited with him
Allusions
No specific allusions
Imagery
There is a great deal of traditional "love" imagery in George's recollections of Jim particularly the Red of his lips and his comparison of them to rosebuds
Paradox
Just as George decides to live his heart gives out and he dies from a massive heart attack
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Charley's feelings for a man she cannot have and George's feelings for a man he cannot have back
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The college is used to encompass all of the individual people within it; George is concerned for what the college would think of him.
Personification
No specific examples of personification
