Genre
Fiction Novel
Setting and Context
Set in 2020 from New York to Newton and switches from a public to a private school.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is snarky, and the mood is reflective.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Donte and the antagonist is Alan.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between Donte and Alan. Donte is innocent and wants to join the fencing team to gain skills. However, the team captain, Alan, does not want anything to do with a black student. Alan's mission is to ensure only white students participate in the school fencing team. Therefore, Alan frames Donte for a mistake he did not commit, and this leads to Donte's arrest.
Climax
The climax comes when Donte finishes training from the youth fencing team led by the former Olympic Champion, Jones. Donte is more courageous than ever. Donte finds his voice and is ready to fight racism and all other oppressors who corrupt the justice system to disadvantage black people.
Foreshadowing
Jones foreshadows sanguinity in Donte's life. Jones's acceptance of allowing Donte to join the youth fencing team clearly showed that Donte was destined for greatness. When he finishes his training, Donte comes out more confident and self-assured.
Understatement
At first, Jones underestimated their ability of Donte gaining fencing skills, but he gave him the opportunity anyway. Later, Jones realized that he was wrong to judge Donte's inability to succeed.
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
The scene in which the police handcuff Donte depicts sight imagery. Donte tries to resist, but the police have already been given false evidence to put him behind bars. This imagery is significant because it shows what racism does. The legal systems are corrupted to disadvantage black people.
Paradox
The primary paradox is that white people hate black people, but white men find it appropriate to marry black women. Donte's mother is black and married to a white man.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between Donte's decision to join the fencing team and his inspiration to fight for a better society in which all people regardless of their skin color are treated equally.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Fencer is used as a metonymy for courage.
Personification
N/A
