Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
The novel is set in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrators are Jane Forrester and Ivy Hart.
Tone and Mood
The tone is somber, and the mood is pessimistic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Jane Forrester.
Major Conflict
The conflict is when Ivy is burdened with taking care of her family at only the age of fifteen. Ivy takes care of her sibling, grandmother and nephew.
Climax
The climax comes when Jane Forrester is tasked with the responsibility of sterilizing Ivy.
Foreshadowing
Jane’s graduation with a social work degree foreshadowed her demanding future task of making vital decisions that affect the local community.
Understatement
Ivy's misfortunes are understated. Despite bearing the burden of taking care of her family at a young age, she also has epilepsy and has a pregnancy to nurse.
Allusions
The story alludes to life challenges that shape the character of an individual.
Imagery
The imagery of Baby William is the most predominant in the novel. The author writes, “Baby William stood on the stoop, saggy diaper hanging halfway down his fat legs, his face all red and tears making paths through the dirt on his cheeks. His black curl was so thick they looked like a wig on his head. He raised his arms out to me when he saw me." The imagery depicts sight.
Paradox
Jane's career is paradoxical because, at some point, she finds herself fixed between choosing humanitarian concerns or her career.
Parallelism
Ivy's life tribulations parallel Jane's tough situations that require her to either choose her career or follow her heart and lose the job.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The closet is personified as a ghost with human abilities to scare.
