Genre
Novel, Journal, Diary
Setting and Context
Pennsylvania, 21st Century
Narrator and Point of View
Miranda is the first-person narrator.
Tone and Mood
Reminiscent, dreadful, dystopian, distressing, uncertain
Protagonist and Antagonist
Miranda is the protagonist. The asteroid is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
Surviving after the destruction attributed to the asteroid and the influenza outbreak.
Climax
Miranda's serendipitous arrival at the town hall, where she secures food for her family, increases their survival odds.
Foreshadowing
The sky has the potential of foreshadowing: “For that tiny instant, I was every 16-year-old in history, not knowing what the skies foretold about my future.” Happenings in the sky are sufficient in foreshadowing the future of humanity.
Understatement
Miranda’s mum undermines the implication of media reports concerning the destructiveness and deaths attributed to the meteor: “We don’t know what he’s (the reporter) saying is true…things get exaggerated. Tomorrow morning we may find out all this didn’t really happen.” Miranda’s mum is in absolute denial.
Allusions
Scientific and astrological allusions such as gravity, the moon, and asteroids.
Allusions to history through the mention of “Marie Antoinette and George Washington and Cleopatra.”
Imagery
Coastal localities are more imperiled by the asteroid. Its magnitude renders it a large-scale disaster that impacts more than one country.
Besides, the earth and the moon have an interdependent relationship.
Paradox
Before the hit, people are enthusiastic about witnessing the meteor. They ready themselves because they assume that it is going to be utterly fantastic. However, the meteor causes destruction that disillusions them and threatens their survival.
Parallelism
The dates on which the entries are made are parallel.
Each date is indicated by the month and day. The year is excluded.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Gold denotes championship or being the best in a contest.
Fat denotes an unhealthy body physique.
Personification
N/A
