The Nightingale Literary Elements

Historical Fiction

France (Paris, Carriveau), World War II

Third Person Omniscient who shows the perspectives of both Vianne and Isabelle throughout the story.

Curious, Nostalgic

Protagonist: French People (specifically Vianne, Isabelle and the French Resistance group ) Antagonist: German Nazis

France has been occupied by Germany and Isabelle joins the French Resistance group. She is required in the beginning to pass out propagandist papers to incite French nationalism and inspire French civilians not to lose hope. Her passion and commitment towards the cause causes her role in the resistance to gets more dangerous. She took up the role of rescuing downed airmen and leading them through a treacherous hike through the Pyrenees mountains to reach safety in Spain. Meanwhile, her sister, Vianne, struggles with starvation, protecting her child and her friend from Nazi capture.

When the Germans captured Isabelle and other members of the French Resistance, and demanded the real Nightingale.

"And yet, even here, in this quiet, it was impossible to forget what they'd just been through... and the changes that were close on their heels."
"It reminded her of how boys sometimes looked at one another when they were about to bully a weaker child."

"Such... theatrics in the wrong place could be most dangerous."
" 'How your Stukas fired on innocent women and children who were fleeing for their lives and dropped bombds on us?' 'That must have been most unpleasant' "
"But it was ridiculous - the Germans threatening death for handing out a few pieces of paper"
"Everyone knew about how the belt-tightening felt, especially to children."
"Those are some mountains"
"That was a hike"

"les Fleurs du Mal. The Flowers of Evil. it was the book they used to signal a meeting."

"My skin has the wrinkled appearance of wax paper that someone has tried to flatten and reuse."
"She saw a sea of yellow stars"
"There was a hole the size of an onion in his chest"

"They think talking about a problem will solve it."

"Chaos. Dust. Crowds."
"First, there was a sound that didn't belong, a vibration, a thudding, and then a murmur."
"Vianne flinched, horrified, that she had been caught standing out here with a German, the enemy, a man. "
"They were so high up the mountain that there were sure to be no German or Spanish patrols. The risk to their lives up here came from the elements."

N/A

"The sun was punishingly hot. it turned the smelly automobile interior into an oven and beat down on the women outside who were shuffling toward... what?"
"Hunger walked beside her, poking her insistently with its sharp little elbow, but what could she do about it?"
"Bullets ate up the grass in rows, people screamed and cried out."
"Bullets ran across the church, nailing arms and legs to the floor."
"Isabelle felt the cold instantly; it bit into her exposed cheeks and slipped through the seams of her woolen coat."
"Dried leaves scudded inside, dancing across the floor, plastering themselves like tiny black hands to the stones of the fireplace"
"As they neared the river, the sound obliterated everything else."
"Under cover of night, they set off again, the sound of their footsteps swallowed by the roar of the river."
"The poor pink stuffed animal was beginning to spew stuffing around the house"