Genre
Sci-fi
Setting and Context
The action takes place in a fictional universe characterized by technological advancements. The time frame remains undefined and the place where the action takes place is alluded as being America.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told from a third person objective point of view.
Tone and Mood
Violent, tragic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is Hiro and the antagonist is Bob Rife.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is between Hiro and the Raven and the reason why the two are in conflict is because a drug the Rave gave to one of Hiro’s friends killed him.
Climax
The story reaches its climax when Hiro kills Bob Rife.
Foreshadowing
The mentioning of the biblical story of Babel foreshadows the important role language plays in the novel.
Understatement
When Uncle Enzo tells Y.T. that he is grateful for what she has done is an understatement as he later reveals just how much he appreciated her efforts and she became his protégé.
Allusions
One of the things alluded in the novel is the idea that religion is something negative. The narrator and the other characters present religion as being something that influences the lives of the people in a way they could never believe possible and also consider it as being the reason why so many viruses spread into the world. In fact, the narrator links directly the idea of religion with the idea of illness.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
The relationship between Hiro and Juanita is paradoxical in the sense that it is clear that they both still love each other, they refuse to admit their feelings and each one refuses to make the first move when it comes to starting a relationship.
Parallelism
A parallel can be drawn between the gangs in the fictional universe and the gangs that exist in modern day America. The author used various names to identify the gangs in the book and some names appear in real life as well to make reference to various crime organization. One such example is the group called the Crips that have a real life counterpart, a gang with the same name in America.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
When the characters refer to the term virus, they refer to both a numerous number of computer viruses and also to a large number of viruses affecting the modern day society such as herpes.
Personification
N/A
