Genre
Short stories
Setting and Context
"False Lights" transpires partially on an island.
Narrator and Point of View
“Dream Children”: third-person narrator.
Annette Bandema and Violet Bandema are First-person narrators.
Tone and Mood
Compassionate, empathetic, troubling, persuasive, appalling, lonesome, curious, enthusiastic, and cordial.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Mrs McNair is the protagonist. Annette Bandema and Violet Bandema are protagonists in “False Lights.”
Major Conflict
"Dream Children": Mrs McNair's double life, which her husband is unaware of.
Annette (the ex-wife of Bandema) having a cordial relationship with Violet (the current wife of Bandema).
Climax
Gretchen Brown’s triumph in the world of success despite scoring a D-(minus in one unit while at college. (“Some Side Effects of Time Travel.”).
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
Literary allusions in “Dream Children.”
Imagery
"Dream Children": Mrs McNair appears to be stressed, and she seems like she has nothing to live for.
Paradox
Mrs McNair's fancies about a child are paradoxical because of the reality that she is childless.
Gretchen’s ‘erotic dreams about her professor” are paradoxical considering that the professor does not like her. (“Some Side Effects of Time Travel.”).
Parallelism
The views of Violet and Annette are paralleled in “False Lights.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Heroines denote female protagonists. (“Dream Children”)
Personification
The dog (Mrs McNair’s) in “Dream Children” is personified.
