The Story of Edgar Sawtelle Literary Elements

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle Literary Elements

Genre

Fiction

Setting and Context

Wisconsin, after the murder of Gar Sawtelle

Narrator and Point of View

The narrator tells the story from Edgar's point of view.

Tone and Mood

The tone is sinister and threatening; the mood morose and filled with mistrust.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Edgar Sawtelle is the protagonist; his uncle, Claude Sawtelle, is the antagonist.

Major Conflict

There is conflict between Gar and Claude the night before Gar's murder. They have a verbal argument that escalates into a drunken brawl.

Climax

The barn burns down after Claude has killed Edgar, with Claude still in it.

Foreshadowing

Edgar finds the syringe in the barn which foreshadows the confirmation of his belief that his uncle murdered his father by poisoning him.

Understatement

N/A

Allusions

The author alludes to the specifics of dog breeding and the way in which breeders raise their animals and make sure the lines are healthy.

On the whole, the narrative alludes to characters and occurrences from Hamlet.

Imagery

The imagery is fairly dark and sinister, mirroring the mood of the story. A great deal of the imagery presents a ghostly imagery from the silhouettes of the trees in the wood to the actual ghostly outline of Gar Sawtelle.

Paradox

Claude traps Edgar in the burning barn and kills him not realizing that he is now unable to escape the barn himself.

Parallelism

There is a parallel between the murders of Gar and Edgar who both die at the hands of Claude.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The farm is the way in which the author expresses the farm community and the people and animals living there.

Personification

N/A

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