Genre
Philosophical book
Setting and Context
Written in the context of natural theology and philosophy of pragmatism
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Enlightening, inspiring and optimistic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Professor Fraser.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between modern religion and traditional beliefs.
Climax
The climax comes when people adapt the philosophies of religion positively, unlike at the beginning when religion was viewed as manipulative.
Foreshadowing
True beliefs in the real world foreshadow people’s mystical feelings.
Understatement
The manipulative nature of religion is understated in the text. For instance, the reader acknowledges that the introduction of Christianity undermined traditional beliefs.
Allusions
The story alludes to the acceptance of religious philosophies in society.
Imagery
The author uses sight imagery to explain modern philosophy. The author writes, “Let us ourselves look at the matter in the largest possible way. Modern psychology, finding definite psycho-physical connections to hold good, assumes as a convenient hypothesis that the dependence of mental states upon bodily conditions must be thoroughgoing and complete.”
Paradox
The assertion that Jesus Christ is a fantasy proxy introduced by the missionaries is paradoxical.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between religion and manipulation.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Religious faith is used as a metonymy for mystical feelings.
Personification
N/A
