Genre
Short stories collection
Setting and Context
The short stories are set between 1999 and 2005.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Enlightening, inspiring, amusing
Protagonist and Antagonist
The main character is the masked child.
Major Conflict
The conflict is in the story ‘I Can Speak', in which there is an ethical dilemma. The use of translator masks on babies' faces is considered evil.
Climax
The climax is in the story 'My Flamboyant Grandson', in which the grandfather, at last, enrolls the grandson in singing and dancing classes.
Foreshadowing
Misleading information about products during advertisements is foreshadowed by fictional marketing.
Understatement
The ability of media is understated in the text. For instance, the grandfather only thinks that media infuses bad things that negatively influence the behavior of his grandson. On the contrary, media plays a critical role in shaping character.
Allusions
The story alludes to the influence of media, entertainment and fictional marketing
Imagery
The imagery of the mainstream media is evident in the story 'CommComm', in which the author describes how money-grabbing advertisers mislead the public by tailoring adverts to suit them.
Paradox
The main paradox is that marketing which is supposed to be a positive aspect of society, is ironically used to benefit the advertisers. Mass media is used to mislead the public, and the people who benefit are the advertisers.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between what customers want to hear about products and the intentions of the advertisers.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The masks are personified as interpreters.
