Empire Falls Literary Elements

Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction

Present-day in the fictional town of Empire Falls in Maine.

Third-person narration

Humorous, Poignant, Heartbreaking

Protagonist: Miles Roby; Antagonist: The secret vendettas and feuds with neighbors and townspeople..

Due to unavoidable circumstances, Miles has ended up working his entire life at the Empire Grill not pursuing his education and life outside the small town. Unlike people in his life Miles is not crafty and manipulative but he is usually a victim of personal vendettas and disputes. Most individuals in the town harbor past traumas and private pains that involve other townspeople or family.

The climax happens when John reaches a breaking point and goes on a shooting spree in his school murdering fellow students.

So, John,” her former boyfriend is saying, “how’s your grandmother? She doing okay?”

In the statement, Zack is bullying John by mentioning his grandmother’s wellbeing which foreshadows the discovery of his grandmother’s corpse.

Miles constantly understates his sentiments towards how poorly other townspeople treat him including his former wife and childhood bully.

The novel alludes to trauma and mental illness from past ordeals and bullying and consequently the occurrence of school shooting sprees.

“All of the rooms on the bottom floor were large and high-ceilinged, with tall, uncurtained windows that allowed passersby a glimpse of the privileged life inside. The Rectum’s dining room, which fronted the street, had an oak dining table long enough to seat twenty guests…”

Mrs. Whiting’s generosity and warmness towards Miles is just manipulation as a form of revenge.

N/A

“I’m going to take you out of where you are and put you in Mount Calvary with the damn Christians, let you drink the Blood of the Lamb for a while…”

“A milky mist had rolled in off the ocean, amplifying sounds, including the far-off ringing of a buoy.”