The Whisper Literary Elements

Science fiction / Post-apocalyptic / Suspense

Set in the year 2050 on Earth in the Northern Hemisphere.

Third-person point of view through the perspective of an omniscient narrator.

Tone: Direct and Grim
Mood: Tense and Hostile

Protagonist: Mika and Ellie Antagonist: Mal Gorman and the Southern government

Mal Gorman as the man in charge aims to use the mutant children and his control in the north to break the Wall and conquer the south. However, the children take over control to prevent a war between the governments.

The climax of the story is the eruption of the battle as the negotiations with the Southern government fail and the leader sends lethal gas to the north.

Each chapter has a title that foreshadows an event or a statement in the narrative.

“Sometimes you need to shock yourself to understand what you’re doing wrong. So we’re going to let our parents start the war and then we’re going to stop it.”

The Wall is a reference to the Great Wall that was constructed to keep the northern invaders from crossing the borders. It is mounted with Genghis Borgs which is an allusion to Mongolian leader Genghis Khan whose army broke through the wall.

“Every pod that flew ahead of them on the air road toward London had a trail of light the man couldn’t see. Blue light streaming from the craft, gold light streaming from the people within, fluid as water, bright as sea and sun, a startling blue, a brilliant gold, buzzing and throbbing with meaning. And the traffic moved at such speed on its gentle curve toward London that all these streams wove together into a silk of inanimate and living light that was mesmerizing.”

N/A

The narrative draws parallels between the Southern and Northern governments through their perceptions of the calamity.

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Sticks and stones” – metonymy for violence.

“The sun was slanting through the door on the other side.”