Genre
Child psychology
Setting and Context
Erikson sets his arguments in modern theories about psychological development, including a mixture of historical case studies and modern case studies.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator is Erikson himself.
Tone and Mood
Erikson writes in an informative tone but is also often literary in his approach.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Children are depicted as the protagonist of this text, with various negative societal factors acting as an antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in this text is trying to discover what influences childhood development.
Climax
This novel features several climaxes when Erikson makes conclusions regarding various psychological questions.
Foreshadowing
Erikson argues that certain events in Hitler's childhood could be seen to foreshadow his terrible actions later in his life.
Understatement
Erikson details a case study in his first chapter, about a boy who is impacted by his grandmother's death. The impact of this event upon the boy's psychological well-being is understated by his parents.
Allusions
Erikson alludes to the childhood of Hitler as an example of his theory.
Imagery
Erikson uses the imagery of childhood to illustrate his arguments about psychological development.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel created between the young boy's epileptic fit and the death of his grandmother by a heart attack.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Erikson speaks about how the word clinical has "long since shed this clerical garb," thereby personifying the term "clinical."