Fargo Literary Elements

Fargo Literary Elements

Director

Joel Coen

Leading Actors/Actresses

William H. Macy

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Frances, McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare

Genre

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Language

English

Awards

Won 2 Oscars: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen - Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Best Actress in a Leading Role - Frances McDormand

Date of Release

1996

Producer

Ethan Coen

Setting and Context

Fargo, North Dakota; Minneapolis, Minnesota - 1996

Narrator and Point of View

POV is that of Jerry and Marge.

Tone and Mood

Serious, Dramatic, Suspenseful

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist is Marge. Antagonists are Jerry, Carl and Gaear

Major Conflict

Jerry hires Carl and Gaear to kidnap his wife to get family money in order to pay off debts.

Climax

Carl and Gaear end up killing a state trooper and two eyewitnesses, and Gaeare kills Jean, while Carl kills Jean's father. Gaear eventually kills Carl before being arrested by Marge, and Jerry is arrested as well.

Foreshadowing

Jerry paying two men to kidnap his wife foreshadows that something bad is bound to go wrong in his ingenious plan.

Understatement

It is understated that Gaear will kill Jean

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

N/A

Allusions

The film is an allusion to the desperate measures people are willing to go to in order to keep their blunders secret.

Paradox

Jerry hires Carl and Gaear to help him get out of a problematic situation. Paradoxically he has hired two men who are ready to kill at the drop of a hat, and they do.

Parallelism

Carl goes back to the roadside to bury money on the side of the highway. His location parallels the previous location where he and Gaear killed a state trooper and two eyewitnesses.

Update this section!

You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.

Update this section

After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.

Cite this page