Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
Set in the 1950s in Bay City, California.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is astonishing, and the mood is reflective.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Mrs. Clare Cavendish, and the antagonist is Peterson.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between Clare and Peterson. Peterson and Clare are always in confrontations, and one day, Peterson decides to disappear mysteriously.
Climax
The climax comes when Malowe discovers that Peterson is dead after getting involved in a hit-a-run accident.
Foreshadowing
Unconditional love foreshadows Mrs. Cavendish’s decision to search for Mr. Peterson.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The story alludes to Chandler's "Private Eye Novel", focusing on the events of blasphemy.
Imagery
The narrator says, “Traffic trickled by in the street below, and there were a few pedestrians, too, men in hats going nowhere." The imagery paints a picture of an idle city and Malowe’s optimism for a better future in his career.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Mrs. Cavendish saw Mr. Peterson's body when he got involved in an accident, but she still goes to report him as a missing person at Malowe’s office.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between Mrs. Cavendish’s sentiment that her husband is an understanding man and Malowe’s scission on why she is looking for Mr. Peterson.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The telephone on Raymond’s desk is personified. Raymond says, “The telephone on my desk had the look of something that knows it's being watched.”
