Cockroach Literary Elements

Cockroach Literary Elements

Genre

Novel, comedy

Setting and Context

The events take place in the slums of Montreal in the end of the 20th or in the beginning of the 21th century.

Narrator and Point of View

The narrator is an Arab who flees to Montreal to start a new life. The novel is written from the first point of view.

Tone and Mood

The tone changes from agitated to sarcastic whilst mood is dark.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The narrator is both the protagonist and the antagonist.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is person vs. self.

Climax

The last meeting of Shohreh and Shaheed is the climax of the story.

Foreshadowing

“Okay, let’s talk about your suicide.”
This quote foreshadows the events of the story and gives readers to understand that the protagonist has serious issues.

Understatement

“When she left a room for a moment, I opened her pursue and stole her lipstick.”

Allusions

The story alludes to the Iranian Revolution.

Imagery

See the imagery section

Paradox

“I despised them; they admired me.”

Parallelism

N/A

Metonymy and Synecdoche

“My eye shall not spare.” (An eye is metonymy that means attention.)

Personification

“The pipes that gurgle with thirst and hollowness.”

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