Hunting by Stars Literary Elements

Young Adult Fiction

Set in a dystopian future in North America.

It is told in first-person from Frenchie’s point of view. Also, in third-person limited omniscient focusing on other characters.

Tone: Intense, Desperate, Dark
Mood: Foreboding, Anxious, Hopeful

Protagonist: Frenchie Antagonist: The Recruiters

The main conflict is the ongoing struggle between Indigenous peoples and settlers. This conflict is expressed through a grim future in which Indigenous people are hunted and harvested for their dream-enhancing serum, which can be used to cure a plague that has made non-Indigenous people go insane. Frenchie and his family must run from recruiters as they try to survive this dystopian horror.

The climax occurs when Rose and Derrick rescue Frenchie from the residential school. Some in the family decide to head toward the United States to protect their family

Wab's cautionary words, "That’s how we make mistakes" foreshadows the mistake they will soon make of failing to recognize French had been taken by a Recruiter van.

Isaac's statement "I'm not sure it exists anymore" is an example of understatement. He is referring to the fact that time has become distorted and fleeting in their difficult situation, but he couches his sentiment in a milder phrase.

The novel alludes to a period of history in Canada where Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their families and sent to government-sponsored religious schools to assimilate into Canadian culture. This allusion highlights the oppression that Indigenous peoples have faced and its lasting impacts on their lives.

The reader envisions the small green figure of the plastic army man being knocked over, "lightening bursting an oak to wood chips," the sun and moon exchanging seats like a game of musical chairs, mountains clotted with pines and black vomit rushing down them, hail the size of dinner plates smashing into buildings, people appearing and disappearing like faults in the film, lakes glinting like coins in sunlight then moonlight then sunlight again, icebergs melting and everything warping as if the ice was a solid frame.

The paradox is that the indigenous people are both being hunted and used to heal the world. They are seen as both a threat and a potential solution, making it difficult for them to know who or what to trust.

The narrative shifts between different perspectives of the major characters, allowing readers to gain insight into each character's thoughts and motivations.

N/A

“A light flickered and hummed to life.”