Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
Written in the context of family struggles
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Pessimistic, horrific, tense, and hopeless
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Hawkin.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is when a strange figure invades Hawkin’s home and shoots his parents.
Climax
The climax comes when the strange figure walks away without injuring the protagonist.
Foreshadowing
The tribulations facing Hawkin’s father are foreshadowed by job loss and hopelessness.
Understatement
Hawkin underestimates the danger posed by the strange man entering their home.
Allusions
The story alludes to marital challenges and the difficult environments children grow in.
Imagery
The scenes of the strange man approaching the protagonist's home to shoot his parents depict sight imagery.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Hawkin remains silent when he notices a strange figure that hurts his parents.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between the financial crisis causing havoc in Hawkin’s home and his mother’s anger.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
