Genre
Historical fiction
Setting and Context
Set in 1992 during the Sarajevo war
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person perspective
Tone and Mood
Disheartening, horrific, optimistic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Zora, and the protagonists are the agents of war.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is when Zora discovers that her neighbors are against her because of the limited available basic commodities during the war. Every person struggles to survive, creating hostility among those who initially lived as a family.
Climax
The climax comes when Zora starts helping people around her to get better. Despite the harsh situation, people start acknowledging that they need each other more than before.
Foreshadowing
The announcement of independence from Bosnia foreshadowed the 1992 Sarajevo siege.
Understatement
There is an understatement when Zora says that war cannot complicate her life in Sarajevo.
Allusions
The story alludes to World War I, when people lived in denial despite knowing the looming danger of war. Instead of running to safety, most people decided to remain in their countries because they did not believe the war could destroy their lives.
Imagery
The author depicts the sense of sight when describing Zora's paintings and other artworks. The imagery shows Zora's love for art and determination to accomplish her work no matter the circumstance. When war erupts in Sarajevo, Zora decides to remain in the country to continue painting and doing other artworks.
Paradox
The main paradox in the novel is that the people who lived as brothers and sisters before the war turn against each other when war erupts in Sarajevo.
Parallelism
n/a
Metonymy and Synecdoche
n/a
Personification
War is personified when Zora says it is inhumane because it destroys lives discriminatively.
