Genre
Historical fiction
Setting and Context
Set in Poland and modern-day Florida.
Narrator and Point of View
Third person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is wretched, and the mood is optimistic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Alina, and the antagonist is the Nazi regime.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is between the Nazi regime and Alina’s family and friends in Poland. The Nazi regime is determined to exterminate all the Polish people.
Climax
The climax comes when Alina and Soul successfully arrive in the USA to seek refuge.
Foreshadowing
Alina's pregnancy foreshadows her decision to live with Soul as a couple.
Understatement
Tomasz understates the Nazis' punishment for harboring Jews.
Allusions
The novel alludes to Hitler's regime and the massacre of the Jews in Germany between 1933 and 1945.
Imagery
The author depicts a sense of smell and taste to readers when describing Alina's reminiscent taste and smell of delicious traditional food before the war. During the war, Alina could smell smoke, acid, and abandoned decomposing human bodies.
Paradox
The story’s plot is paradoxical because the identity of the primary family in the novel is discovered towards the end of the story.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Tomasz personifies the film canister as the only savior of Alina. Tomasz tells Alina that the film canister will offer her protection.
