Genre
Novella
Setting and Context
Greenwich Village in New York during the summer of 1953
Narrator and Point of View
Leo narrates the novel in the first-person as a memoir.
Tone and Mood
The tone is powerful; the mood is emotional.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Leo is the protagonist; racism is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Leo first meets Alene while she is transcribing manuscripts in an apartment.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Alene and Leo fall in love with each other and begin a short summer romance together.
Foreshadowing
The end of their romance is foreshadowed by the end of the summer and their parting as they move to different places.
Understatement
The role that love plays in our lives is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the treatment of African-Americans at the time in New York.
Imagery
The imagery of passionate sexual activity is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that Kerouac intended to overcome barriers, yet was insensitive to minorities is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the relaxed attitude that Alene has and the summer full of meetings in jazz clubs and cocktail bars.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
