The Promise Literary Elements

The Promise Literary Elements

Genre

Novel

Setting and Context

Set in South Africa

Narrator and Point of View

Third-person narrative

Tone and Mood

The tone is cautionary, and the mood is mystifying.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The central character is Amor.

Major Conflict

There is a conflict between Salome and Manie. Manie refuses to honor his promise of gifting Salome a house.

Climax

The climax comes when only Amor becomes the only survivor in Swart's family due to her firmness that the house should be given to Salome should as promised. After forty years, Amor gives Salome the house and the family curse is lifted.

Foreshadowing

The mysterious deaths that occur at the interval of ten years in Swart's family are foreshadowed by Manie's failure to honor his wife's plea to gift Salome a house on the farm.

Understatement

The consequences of failing to honor a promise are understated in the text. Besides the mysterious deaths, the Swart's family is cursed.

Allusions

The story alludes to the significance of honoring promises made.

Imagery

The hearing imagery is depicted when Amor overhears her parents’ discussion over gifting Salome with a house within the farm after Rachel dies.

Paradox

The main paradox is that Manie fails to honor his wife's request to gift Salome a house on the farm. After Rachel's death, Manie decided to dishonor his wife and failed to promise.

Parallelism

There is parallelism between the Swart family's tragedy and daily rejection to respect promises.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

N/A

Personification

The house given to Salome is personified as the redeemer.

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