Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
The events of the story start in 1907 in New York, the USA. The family of Jewish immigrants tries to adapt to a new life
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told from the third point of view by an omniscient narrator
Tone and Mood
Tone is contemplative. Mood changes from calm to stressed one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
David Schearl is the protagonists of the story. Albert Schearl , David’s father, is the antagonist
Major Conflict
The main conflicts are character vs. character and character vs. self. David’s and Albert’s relationship could be described as rocky, for Albert is pretty violent and suspects that David could be a result of adultery. The second type of conflict is represented by David himself, for he has troubles with understanding himself and self-identifying.
Climax
The climax of the story happens when Reb Yidel relates David’s story to Albert and Genya . He makes up a story, which says that Albert is not his biological father . As soon as Albert hears Reb Yidel out, he finds all needed confirmation that David is not his son.
Foreshadowing
The scene of family reunion foreshadows a lot. A reader sees not a happy family, but a bunch of strangers who are awkward with each other
Understatement
Are you blaming me?
The scene, where Albert is angry with his wife for she couldn’t recognize him could be considered an understatement, for Albert doesn’t pay attention to his wife explanations, deliberately making them less important in comparison to the fact that Genya fails to recognize him
Allusions
Isaiah
Imagery
Imagery is widely used. It is mostly used to describe dreams, visions, feelings and everyday life of David
Paradox
Then here in the new land is the same old poverty.
The paradox is that America is often depicted as the Golden Land, but as it turns out to be, the problems are the same everywhere.
Parallelism
Rain, rain, go away, come again
Some oddeh day
It rhymes, for it is a song for children, so that they could memorize it easily. A mispronounced words “ oddeh ” indicates that children, who sing this song, are not native speakers
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Red days were Sundays.
Red days are an example of metonymy. They denote weekends.
Only that bald-headed pig with the glasses?
Glasses are an example of synecdoche, which refers to spectacles.
Personification
The ship curved around in a long arc toward Manhattan, her bow sweeping past Brooklyn.
A personal pronoun which is used for denoting a female human being is used for a ship, which is an inanimate object.
