Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
Written in the context of religion and cult practices
Narrator and Point of View
The story is narrated from the third-person point of view.
Tone and Mood
Optimistic and hopeful
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Giovanni Bruno, who is the founder of the Brunists' cult.
Major Conflict
The major conflict occurs when the news about the end of the world by the Brunists spreads across the country. The journalists are all over trying to get information from the cult but in vain. The Brunists start living a reckless lifestyle believing that their lives are coming to an end.
Climax
The climax occurs when it is discovered that Giovanni is not a prophet but a normal human being who blinded his followers to worship and believe in him. After the truth comes out, the Brunists' cult is disbanded.
Foreshadowing
The death of Giovanni’s sister in an accident foreshadows the end of the Brunists’ cult. The followers of the cult start questioning Giovanni’s prophet power if he cannot save his sister from dying in the accident. Towards the end, the truth is revealed when people discover that Giovanni is just a normal human being.
Understatement
The understatement is vainness and hopeless belief in a fellow human being who misled the entire flock until the truth came out.
Allusions
The entire book is full of allusions to the end of the world. Brunists believe that the world is ending, so they engage in a reckless lifestyle.
Imagery
The imageries of Hiram’s vision and the spiking grass depict the sense of sight to readers.
Paradox
The entire narration is paradoxical. How could people be misled to worship an old survivor of the explosion as a god? The ability of Giovanni to blind people that he is a god is ironic. Similarly, the Brunists' belief that the world is coming to an end is entirely satirical.
Parallelism
There is a parallel description of a cult and people's independent opinions.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Brunists are represented as blinded and brainwashed people.
Personification
N/A
