Genre
Fictional novel
Setting and Context
The action in the novel takes place on the fictional planet named Arbre in the distant future.
Narrator and Point of View
The action is told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood in the story are neutral.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Fraa Erasmas and the antagonists are the aliens.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is a political one and is between the country of Arbre and the outside invading forces.
Climax
The story reaches its climax when the people from Arbre find out that there is a political conflict among the aliens who try to invade their planet.
Foreshadowing
At the begining of the novel, the rules of the planet Arbre tries to hide the fact that there was a foreign ship in their orbit. This foreshadows the later aspects which will be hidden or denied by the government.
Understatement
At the begining of the book, the narrator and the rest of the characters from the planet of Arbre claimed that they were the most intelligent race in the universe and there was no chance that other species could possess a higher intelligence This is proven to be an understatement quite quickly when the characters realize that the aliens trying to invade them are far more advanced and intelligent.
Allusions
One of the main allusions in the story is the idea that the most dangerous thing a person has to deal with is greed and ambition.
Imagery
An important image is presented towards the middle of the novel when the main character stumbles upon an alien ship with the body of a dead alien inside it. This image is important because it represents the first proof that the aliens had access to advanced technology and were a real danger to the human race.
Paradox
One of the most paradoxical ideas is the way in which the people from Arbre continued to disregard the danger posed by the aliens floating around their planet even after it became clear that they were extremely dangerous.
Parallelism
No parallelism can be found.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The weeds described in the story are used as a general term to make reference to the idea of moral corruption.
Personification
We have a personification in the line "the ship crept along the defense lines".
