Genre
Non-Fiction
Setting and Context
Pripyat, Ukraine; primarily in 1986
Narrator and Point of View
Told from a third person point of view
Tone and Mood
Solemn, Violent, Inept, Frustrating, Tense, Mysterious, and Historical
Protagonist and Antagonist
This is a non-fiction book and has neither a protagonist nor antagonist. However, the Soviets are portrayed as corrupt, idiotic bureaucrats.
Major Conflict
The struggle of the Soviet government and the Soviet people to contain the Chernobyl debacle and prevent further damage to the world
Climax
This is a non-fiction book and doesn't really have a climax.
Foreshadowing
The Soviet's handling of past incidents foreshadows their inept handling of the Chernobyl incident.
Understatement
The naivete of some of the Soviet people is understated.
Allusions
To the history of the Soviet Union, Nuclear power, and the world in general, as well as geography and popular culture.
Imagery
Higginbotham uses intense imagery to paint a picture of the harsh and unrelenting conditions the firefighters, for example, had to go through.
Paradox
The Soviets were one of the world superpowers yet couldn't properly design a nuclear power plant (and later, clean up the mess).
Parallelism
The stories of the Soviet firefighters are paralleled throughout the book.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
KGB = the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, or Russian Secret Police
Personification
The power plant itself is often personified throughout the book.
