Genre
Non-fiction
Setting and Context
The book is set in a jail cell, 1969.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is candid, and the mood is lighthearted.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Henry David Thoreau is the main character.
Major Conflict
The conflict is when Henry is thrown into a cell, and his mother is left flabbergasted because she does not comprehend why her son is jailed.
Climax
The climax is when Henry leaves jail and learns the person behind his misfortunes and torture. Henry discovers that it is his Aunt Louisa who ensured that he was locked for her selfish gains.
Foreshadowing
Henry’s nightmare in Act Two foreshadowed his release from jail unconditionally.
Understatement
Henry and his brother John's ambition to start a school of their own is understated. The main reason for their ambition was to attain independence in decision making.
Allusions
The story alludes to the conditions people go through when in jail.
Imagery
The images of a jail cell where the protagonist is held depict sight imagery. Through this sight imagery, the reader is introduced to life in jail and what inmates go through. More importantly, the reader learns that a person can be jailed despite being innocent.
Paradox
Thoreau's nightmare shows how violent he is despite being perceived as a humble man who is harmless. Consequently, Thoreau is violent because, given an opportunity, he can use a gun to kill anybody who annoys him.
Parallelism
Thoreau’s thoughts and opinions about slavery parallel the sinister presence of white ascendancy in the USA’s leadership.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Jail is embodied as a disciplinarian.
