Genre
Fiction novel
Setting and Context
Set in the mid-20th century in a New Zealand village school
Narrator and Point of View
A first-person narrative from the unnamed young girl's perspective
Tone and Mood
The tone is chatty, and the mood is calm.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is the unnamed young girl who is also the narrator. The antagonists are the parents who set tough rules for the children.
Major Conflict
There is a major conflict between the children and their parents. The children are equated to animals and must follow their parents' orders.
Climax
The climax comes when the children decide to disobey their parents and visit the reservoir.
Foreshadowing
The children's disobedience to their parents when they visit the reservoir foreshadows their independence.
Understatement
n/a
Allusions
The story alludes to Anzac Day, a national day in Australia to mark the commemoration of war victims.
Imagery
The author describes the reservoir's mysteries and aura scenic view to paint an imaginary picture in the readers' minds to see what is happening. The narrator's mother also describes the dangers of the reservoir, and in the previous days, some children drowned in it.
Paradox
The main paradox is that the children visit the reservoir despite knowing they are forbidden to do so by their parents.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between the narrator's acceptance of her disobedience and her mother’s endless warnings against visiting the reservoir.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
n/a
Personification
The bull is given human abilities such as getting angry at someone who comes his way.
