The Lying Life of Adults Literary Elements

The Lying Life of Adults Literary Elements

Genre

Fiction

Setting and Context

The novel is set in the 1990s in Naples.

Narrator and Point of View

Third-person narrative

Tone and Mood

The tone is accusatory, and the mood is humorous.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The central protagonist is the 13-year-old Giovanna, and the antagonist is her father.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is between Giovanna and her father, who says she is ugly.

Climax

The climax comes when Rosario takes Giovanna’s virginity.

Foreshadowing

Giovanna’s falling out of school is foreshadowed by her parent’s conversation that she is ugly.

Understatement

There is an understatement when Giovanna fools around with rude boys.

Allusions

n/a

Imagery

The description of Giovanna becoming a holy girl depicts the sense of sight. The author describes how she reads the bible, sings, and attends church.

Paradox

The main paradox is that Giovanna’s parents cheat on each other.

Parallelism

There is a parallelism between Giovanna's thoughts of having sex with Roberto and his suggestion that she joins him in his bed after she arrives.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

n/a

Personification

The bracelet is personified when Giovanna says it intentionally decides to disappear.

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