Genre
Short Stories
Setting and Context
Often set in Monument, a town in America.
Narrator and Point of View
Cormier's stories are mostly written from a first-person perspective, usually from the point of view of a young person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is often lighthearted but sometimes becomes thoughtful and philosophical.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is often a young, first-person narrator, who may see their parents as antagonists but later realise they are similar.
Major Conflict
In Guess What? I Almost Kissed My Father Goodnight, Mike suspects his father of unusual activity and spends the story trying to figure out what it is.
Climax
In Guess What? I Almost Kissed My Father Goodnight, the climax is when Mike confronts his father about his suspicious activity.
Foreshadowing
The importance of Mike's mustache is foreshadowed as it is mentioned extensively in the very first page of the story.
Understatement
In Cormier's stories, children often understate their parent's humanity and identity, believing their parents to be entirely different from themselves.
Allusions
Cormier alludes to actress Ethel Barrymore in The Moustache.
Imagery
Cormier uses various imagery to describe characters and their behavior, including Mike's father and his grey hair.
Paradox
Although Mike often lies to his parents, he is shocked to discover his father is also capable of lying.
Parallelism
Mike discovers that he is similar to his father, drawing a parallel between his own rejection from Sally and his father's rejection as a young man.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
