Genre
Fictional autobiography
Setting and Context
The action takes place in Canada in the 1970s.
Narrator and Point of View
The action is told from the perspective of a first person subjective point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood is neutral.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is the narrator and the antagonist is represented by the writer's blook experienced by the main character.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is an internal one and is caused by the inability to create something original from a creative point of view.
Climax
The novel reaches its climax when the main character finds his brother once more.
Foreshadowing
When the main character is told that the police will know where to find Theo it foreshadows the scene in which Theo will be described as an invalid incapable of taking care of himself.
Understatement
When the main character claims that life has no meaning if he is unable to write and create is proven to be an understatement when the narrator agrees that there are wonderful things in life apart from writing that can make a person happy.
Allusions
One of the mail allusions in the novel is the idea that a person should try and move from one place to another as much as possible to avoid getting stuck and becoming too comfortable.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
One of the most paradoxical ideas in the novel is the way in which the main character finds help from the most unusual people and sources.
Parallelism
A parallel can be drawn between the narrator his brother. The two men are completely different from one another and this parallel is used here to show just how much a seemingly unimportant decision can change a person's life dramatically.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The minivan is used as a general term which represents the idea of discovery.
Personification
We find a personification in the line "the wind carresed the leaves".
