Genre
Science Fiction
Setting and Context
An island under the control of The Memory Police
Narrator and Point of View
Told from the point of view of an unnamed novelist (who is also the book's narrator)
Tone and Mood
Violent, Dystopian, Solemn, Sad, Mysterious, and Secretive
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Novelist (Protagonist) vs. The Memory Police (Antagonist)
Major Conflict
The novelist's struggle to endure the harsh and dystopian control from the Memory Police.
Climax
When the disappearances on the island pile up and reach a boiling point.
Foreshadowing
The Memory Police losing their bodies is foreshadowed early on in the film.
Understatement
The extent to which the narrator is brave is understated in the book.
Allusions
To the works of George Orwell (particularly 1984), Aldous Huxley (particularly Brave New World), We, the works of Ray Bradbury, popular culture, mythology, and religion.
Imagery
Ogawa uses intense imagery to underscore the oppressive and dystopian nature of the society in which the novelist lives in.
Paradox
The novelist finishes her manuscript yet consistently loses her memory.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The island that is the setting in the book is personified quite often.
