Small Great Things Literary Elements

Small Great Things Literary Elements

Genre

African-American literature

Setting and Context

Hospital in Connecticut, in the present-day

Narrator and Point of View

Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character in the novel.

Tone and Mood

The tone is powerful and moving; the mood is tense and sad.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Ruth is the protagonist; The Bauers are the antagonists.

Major Conflict

The major conflict of the novel occurs when Ruth is instructed not to touch a baby that belongs to a couple who are white supremacists, as she is an African-American nurse.

Climax

The climax of the story is reached when Ruth is arrested and is charged with the murder of the baby, who died in her care.

Foreshadowing

The death of the baby is foreshadowed by the fact that Ruth was specifically told not to touch it.

Understatement

The role of race in our modern society is understated throughout the novel.

Allusions

The story alludes to the changes made to civil rights in America, and whether equality has been truly reached.

Imagery

N/A

Paradox

The fact that the white supremacist couple want their baby to be cared for, yet don't allow Ruth to touch it is an example of paradox in the story.

Parallelism

There is a parallel between the treatment that Ruth receives and the treatment that the African-American slaves received.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

N/A

Personification

The lack of justice in society is personified through the death of the baby.

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