Genre
Children's Fiction
Setting and Context
1959, Memphis TN
Narrator and Point of View
Victor Vollmer The Third narrating from his own point of view as an eleven year old boy
Tone and Mood
Nervous and stressed as Victor dreads talking to people on collection night, and threatening when Victor and Mam go to find Ara T
Protagonist and Antagonist
Victor is the protagonist, Ara T is the antagonist
Major Conflict
Between Mam and Ara T - they have known each other since childhood but their conflict escalates and becomes physical when Mam lets him know she knows he murdered her brother
Climax
Mam stabs Ara T in the arm with the yellow-handled knife he stole from Victor, enabling them to get his stolen things back
Foreshadowing
The shouting inside the Worthington house foreshadows the sadness in Mrs Worthington
Understatement
Victor tells his classmates he stutters, but this statement understates his fear of stuttering and panic that accompanies his having to talk to people
Allusions
Victor fears he and Mam will be taken to jail by cops who look like the two guys on the television show "Dragnet"
Imagery
"Mam's lower lip was busted and fat. Her nose was swollen and whopper-sided. Her right eye was almost closed and her other eye was red where the nice white should have been.
The author vividly tells the reader what Mam's injuries look - and feel - like
Paradox
Victor understands words but cannot verbalize them well but his mother can verbalize easily although she always chooses the wrong words or gets meanings wrong
Parallelism
There is a parallel between TV Boy's deafness and Victor's stuttering as both have a problem communicating but both are intelligent
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Vince uses the word "farm" to mean Grandparents, cousins, and extended family when asked where Rat has gone
Personification
Victor says that the streets are his friends, attributing the ability to exhibit friendship to man-made roadways
