Genre
fantasy
Setting and Context
a fictional world, Kingdom of Ravka
Narrator and Point of View
Narrator: Alina
Point of view: first person
Tone and Mood
Tone: tense, contemplative
Mood: adventurous, nightmarish
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Alina; Antagonist: Darkling
Major Conflict
On a mission at the Unsea or the Fold, a place filled with nightmarish creatures called Volcra and the place that separates the Ravka Kingdom from the rest of the world, the main protagonist Alina unleashes her hidden powers by trying to rescue her best friend Mal and enters the world of Grisha.
Climax
Alina realizes the meaning of the dreams she had about the stag. The stag has been trying to send her a message through her dreams, a message that her mercy is more powerful than Darkling's grip over her power. She destroys the Darkling's grip over her and uses her power to save herself and Mal, leaving the Darkling and the rest at the rest at the mercy of Volcra.
Foreshadowing
"You're all in for a big disappointment," I muttered. "For your sake, I hope you're wrong," said Ivan. "For all our sakes," said Fedyor.
-Alina trying to convince Darkling's underlings that there has been a mistake and that she actually doesn't have the powers of the Sun Summoner. Their answers foreshadow the threatening events that Alina will find herself in.
Understatement
"You look like you're on your way to a really good dinner instead of possible death and dismemberment."
-Alina to Mal before they go on a mission to the Unsea.
Allusions
n/a
Imagery
Imagery of darkness is presented throughout, from the Unsea, to the color black and the name of the main antagonist Darkling. Darkness is a visual representation of evil.
Paradox
"Peasants love their Saints. They hunger for the miraculous. And yet they do not love the Grisha."
-The Apparat talking to Alina trying to reveal to her the hidden truth and reality of their world.
Parallelism
"Had he been torn apart by volcra? Had the lost men and women of the Tula Valley finally had their revenge on the Black Heretic?
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"This is the truth of him, I thought as I squinted in the dazzling light."-Alina's thoughts upon observing the Fold once again, realizing that the horrors of the Fold are a representation of the Darkling.
Personification
"The woods were silent in their grief."
