Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
Written in the context of philosophy and sexual promiscuity
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Sympathetic, exploratory, optimistic, informative
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Alain.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that Alain is troubled, and he takes most of his time philosophizing about women's body parts and seductiveness.
Climax
The climax is when Alain learns from his father that his mother never wanted him to be born.
Foreshadowing
The act of Alain being apologetic is foreshadowed by the double hatred between his father and mother.
Understatement
The connection between Alain and his late mother is understated. For instance, when he rides the bicycle, he feels that he is with his mother and talks to her.
Allusions
The story alludes to the connection between mothers and their children.
Imagery
The book opens with sexual imagery describing Alain’s feelings and thoughts about women’s sexual bodies and their seductiveness.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Alain hangs his late mother’s portrait in his room despite knowing that she never wanted him to be born in the first place.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The navel is used as metonymy for secretive pleasure points.
Personification
N/A
