Genre
Adventure novel, Fiction and Existential literature.
Setting and Context
The settings of the novel includes River Thames and London in the late twentieth century.
Narrator and Point of View
The 'third person' narration has been employed in the nove.
Tone and Mood
Optimistic, Energetic, Caring, Sympathetic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist in the novel is an ape, who has the ability to speak and it named itself as Erasmus. The narrator say that the ape is a theologian and a poet and it is a result of DNA testing. The antagonist in the novel is Adam, who wants to do various experiments on the ape.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the novel is between human and animals. The humans want to play with the life of an animal just for the sake of their experimentation.
Climax
The climax comes in the novel when Madelene confronts the ape and starts living with it while Adam wants to do his experiments on it.
Foreshadowing
The releasing of the ape from the vessel foreshadows its freedom.
Understatement
The understatement in the novel is that humans are not capable of the pedestal of supreme being and animals are more civilized than most of the humans. Another understatement is that humans are identical to animals in many ways and animals can replace human beings just like Erasmus replaces all the humans in Madelene's life.
Allusions
There are allusions to zoology, genetics, animal life, paradise, Adam and Eve in the novel.
Imagery
There are images of imprisonment, experimentation, River Thames, nature, paradise, boating and vessels demonstrated by the writer.
Paradox
An example of paradox in the novel is that Adam has been named after the 'first man' but unlike that Adam, this character ends up loosing his wife just because of an animal. Another paradox is that Madelene leaves a man for the love of an ape and Erasmus has all the qualities which are possessed by a man.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between animal and human nature.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The examples of synecdoche in the novel are 'alchoholism', which represents the damage done to Madalene's life, River Thames which stands for London and the ape who represents nature. An example of metonymy is Adam who is a zoologist and he represents all the zoologists who conduct various experiments on the animals even at the cost of their lives.
Personification
The ape has been personified in the novel.
