Genre
Memoir
Setting and Context
The memoir is written in the context of Harjo’s life history.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrative
Tone and Mood
sorrowful, hopeless, pessimistic, disheartening
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Joy Harjo, who also doubles as the author.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that Harjo's mother divorces her first husband when Harjor is still young. The mother remarries an older man hoping for financial security, but the man is abusive, a womanizer and alcoholic that throws the life of Harjo into an imbalance.
Climax
The climax is attained when Harjo makes up her mind to help victims of abuse. Harjor grew up in an abusive home where her stepfather physically assaulted them. Similarly, she experiences two divorces due to physical abuse from her husband.
Foreshadowing
Harjo's divorces were foreshadowed by her family background in which she grew in an unstable family.
Understatement
Domestic abuse is understated in the text. Men are the main culprits of domestic-based violence against women. When Harjo's mother got married at seventeen, her husband was abusive, and she decided to end the relationship. After getting remarried to an older man, she was also physically abused by her husband.
Allusions
The story alludes to domestic violence against women and girls.
Imagery
The imagery of suffering depicts sight, aiding readers to see the devastating effects of domestic violence. The readers see the abuses Harjo's mother go through at the hands of men who marry her. Similarly, Harjo experiences the same abuse when she gets married.
Paradox
The most heartrending and theatrical paradox is the cycle of domestic abuse. Harjo's mother moves from one abusive relationship to the other. Similarly, Harjo experiences the same abuse when she gets married twice.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Marriage is embodied as abusive to women.
