Genre
Non-fiction
Setting and Context
21st Century America
Narrator and Point of View
The book is written from the point of view of Timothy Snyder.
Tone and Mood
The tone of the book is passionate and is often fuelled with a feeling of anger.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is arguably Snyder himself as he speaks about his own struggles with illness. The antagonist is the American healthcare system, which fails American citizens in many ways.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is exposing the failings of the American healthcare and political system in dealing with illness.
Climax
There is no clear climax in this book.
Foreshadowing
Snyder's own lecture about freedom in America foreshadowed his later ideas.
Understatement
Snyder argues that the needs of the healthcare system were neglected during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Allusions
At the beginning of the text, Snyder uses a quotation from the bible: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
Imagery
Snyder uses gruesome imagery to describe his own illness in 2019.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Snyder uses the metonym "The White House."
Personification
Snyder personifies the bacteria that caused his illness: "bacteria celebrating the bounty of my blood."
