Eye in the Sky Literary Elements

Science Fiction

The story is set in the then-future year of 1957 amidst a backdrop of McCarthyism and fear of Communists.

The point of view is that of the protagonist, Jack Hamilton.

Suspicious and confusing; the mood is somewhat fearful.

Jack Hamilton is the protagonist; the antagonist is Charles McFeyffe

There is conflict between Hamilton and McFeyffe about the accusations of left wing leanings against Hamilton's wife.

It is revealed that McFeyffe is really the Communist sympathizer and has been using Mrs Hamilton as a smokescreen for his own left wing leanings.

The accident at the plant and the subsequent exposure to radiation foreshadows the sudden journey into an alternate universe of the members of the tour party.

The author states that there was a "fear" of Communists but this understates the absolute paranoia of the time regarding weeding out left-wing sympathizers and possible collaborators with the enemy.

The story constantly alludes to the McCarthyism of the time and the generalized fear of Communists that was all pervading.

The imagery is fairly fantastical and enables the reader to imagine experiencing what a journey through another person's brain would look like, not just visually but also what such an experience would sound like.

Jack Hamilton's wife is accused of being a left-wing sympathizer by a man who is actually the communist himself.

There is a parallel between the preoccupations of the tour group in the alternative universes, and the preoccupations that consume them when they are in their own universe.

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