The Loved One Literary Elements

The Loved One Literary Elements

Genre

A satirical novel

Setting and Context

The events of the story take place in Los Angeles, the British expatriate community in Hollywood after World War II.

Narrator and Point of View

The novel is told from the third-person point of view by an omniscient narrator

Tone and Mood

The tone is humorous whilst the mood is gloomy and dark.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Dennis Barlow is the protagonist of the story.

Major Conflict

The major conflicts are idealism vs. reality, person vs. person, person vs. society.
The idealism vs. reality could be illustrated by the conflict between Whispering Glades and The Happier Hunting Ground.
The person vs. person is a conflict between Dennis and Aimee, for she expects him to be a Prince Charming.
The person vs. society is represented by the conflicts within the British expatriate community.

Climax

Aimee’s suicide is the climax of the novel.

Foreshadowing

“Then where do I work?”
Owing to Sir Francis reaction to his dismissal, it becomes clear that he will do something reckless, for instance commit suicide.

Understatement

“Luckily the war came”.
Sir Amrose has rather twisted values. He values his reputation more than lives of millions.

Allusions

The novel alludes to the story of Francesca and Paolo.

Imagery

Images of nature and everyday life can be traced in the novel.

Paradox

"Old boy" - the paradox is created with the help of oxymoron

Parallelism

N/A

Metonymy and Synecdoche

“Perhaps you wouldn't mind taking a hand?” (A hand is metonymy that means help).

Personification

“It shook the rusty fingers of palm-leaf and swelled the dry sounds of summer, then frog-voices, the grating cicadas, and the ever present pulse of music from the neighbouring native huts.

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