Genre
Fantasy historical fiction novel
Setting and Context
Set in 1828 in Canton, China, and Oxford, England.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Informative
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Robin Swift and the antagonist is the employing authority at Babel.
Major Conflict
There was a major conflict between the Chinese authorities and the ordinary people in the 1820s. Ordinary people live in absolute poverty. When a cholera outbreak comes, many poor people die, including Robin's entire family except him, who survives courtesy of a well-wisher who takes him to England.
Climax
The climax comes when Robin arrives in England, studies linguistics, and gets an excellent opportunity to work in Babel. Robin improves his standard of living and makes new friends, which plays a critical role in helping him forget his past.
Foreshadowing
The silver industrial revolution in the 1930s foreshadows England's modern development.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
Sense of sight is used in describing Babel. The author says that Babel is full of silver bars with inscriptions of different languages. The only people allowed to work in Babel are Oxford translators. Therefore, the physical composition of Babel depicts a sense of sight to readers.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Robin discovers he is not alone in this world when he gets new friends in Babel who share similar experiences.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between Professor Lovell's decision to employ a personal tutor to Teach Robin and his intervention to enable him to join Babel as a translator.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Babel is a metonymy for Europe’s economic powerhouse
Personification
Babel is personified as the heart that gives life to England’s economy.
