Quicksand Literary Elements

Quicksand Literary Elements

Genre

Fictional Novel

Setting and Context

The novel is set in the small city of Naxos.

Narrator and Point of View

First-person narrative

Tone and Mood

Apprehensive, belligerent, ambitious

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist of the story is Helga Crane.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is when Helga is looked upon as an exotic creature in her own home. Family members dress her provocatively to gain attention.

Climax

Helga gets converted and seduces the preacher, whom she later marries and settles with him.

Foreshadowing

Helga’s mixed-race background foreshadowed her racial identity crisis.

Understatement

Helga underestimates her ability to accept her race and make a significant change in her life.

Allusions

The story alludes to the identity crises that mixed-race people go through in their lives.

Imagery

Color imagery is used when the author hints that Helga's flight is black. Color is mentioned throughout the book to illustrate sight imagery.

Paradox

The paradox of seclusion is evident when Helga teaches in an all-black school within a predominantly white society in Greece.

Parallelism

Helga's story is parallel to that of the author, who is also from a mixed-race background.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The phrase ‘The Flying Wave of her hair’ refers to Helga’s mixed-race background.

Personification

There is no specific example of personification.

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