Genre
Fiction, Psychological Gothic
Setting and Context
An unnamed Southern town in America
Narrator and Point of View
The story is narrated by 12-year-old Frankie Addams.
Tone and Mood
The tone moves from naivety to understanding, with the mood being one of exploration and discovery.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Frankie is the protagonist, the rest of the world is her antagonist
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the novel is when Frankie becomes separated from her biological parents. Her mother dies as she gives birth to her, and her father isn't a figure in her life. It makes Frankie into the person that she wants to discover and forces her to connect with the unexpected people in society.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Frankie travels to Alaska for the honeymoon of her brother and his soon to be bride, which while unusual in itself, perfectly highlights Frankie and the life she has lived so far.
Foreshadowing
The failed meeting with the soldier is foreshadowed through the speed of the death of Frankie's mother, as just like her brief, fleeting moment with the soldier, any hope she had was quickly lost.
Understatement
The impact of a traumatic childhood is understated throughout the novel, as the reader begins to piece together fragments of the true meaning for Frankie's erratic behavior.
Allusions
The novel alludes to the role of female sexuality and the exploration of racial identity, through Frankie's perspective of the world and the people that she interacts with.
Imagery
The image of the beauty of love even in an isolated forest is shown through the strong relationship between her brother and his lover, who begin to show Frankie that true love does and can exist.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the refusal of Frankie's father to have any part in her life and Frankie's refusal to accept the world around her, and instead, being forced to slowly begin to comprehend it.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
