Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
The action takes place in an unnamed country in South America and the action takes place over the course of four months.
Narrator and Point of View
The actions are presented from an objective third perspective point of view.
Tone and Mood
Tragic, ironic, unsettling, hopeful
Protagonist and Antagonist
While at a first glance the reader may be inclined to consider the hostages as being the protagonists and the terrorists as being the antagonists, this is not entirely the case in the novel. The protagonists are the characters inside the manor and the antagonist is the president whom the terrorist protests against
Major Conflict
The major conflict is between the group of terrorists that take over the mansion and the country where the action takes place.
Climax
The story reaches its climax when the troops enter the manor and begin killing both terrorists and hostages.
Foreshadowing
In the second chapter when the characters begin to talk with one another without bothering too much about the men keeping them captive foreshadows how much more relaxed the characters will be in the future and the relationships that will later develop.
Understatement
When Messner comes and tells the General that things will probably not end up as they hoped, it is an understatement because in the end, almost every terrorist is killed.
Allusions
Many hostages change during their time spent in captivity and realize what is really important. Some characters rekindle their marriages and some realize that they have no feelings whatsoever for their current partner. The vice-president discovers that he enjoys manual labor more than politics and characters such as Father Arguedas and Kato are able to express their love for music freely during their captivity. Also, Watanabe and Carmen are among the characters who find love in the mansion during the four month standoff. The location of the mansion is linked with all the events happening inside the mansion. The house is located in nature, often associated with returning to the natural state. In many ways, the characters return to their natural state, discovering what is important and learning to live and appreciate every minute.
Imagery
The villains in the novel are extremely human. The way they are described paints them as reasonable men forced to act in a certain way because of the unfavorable circumstances they are forced to deal with. Because of this, they are not really portrayed as being the villains. Instead, they are just as human as their hostages and just as confined as them because of the way the country treats them.
Paradox
The relationship between the hostages and the terrorists is sometimes paradoxical in the sense that the terrorists do not really act as terrorists and the hostages sometimes act as parents for the young terrorists. While the situation becomes sometimes tense, the characters always manage to find their balance again and live in relative harmony with one another.
Parallelism
The narrator draws a parallel between the two priests who were taken hostages as well, comparing their behavior. The young priest, Father Arguedas refuses to leave when he is told that he can be freed as well, choosing to remain with the others instead, hoping that he will be able to help them. Through his actions, Father Arguedas shows that he cares about those around him and that he loves them, embodying thus the principles of Christianity. Monsignor Rolland on the other hand, is the complete opposite of Father Arguedas. He acts in a certain way only because he wants to become bishop, not because he cares about the people around him.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
In chapter 10 ''He understood that these were extraordinary times, and if their old life was ever restored to them, nothing would be the same.''
