Genre
Historical fiction
Setting and Context
Set in the early 20th Century in Malaga Island, Maine, United States of America.
Narrator and Point of View
Second-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Meditative and devastating
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Ethan, and the antagonist is Mathew.
Major Conflict
The conflict is between Mathew Diamond and the Descendants of Benjamin Honey on Malaga Island.
Climax
The climax comes when the descendants of Benjamin Honey are evicted from Malaga Island.
Foreshadowing
The first appearance of Mathew Diamond in Malaga Island foreshadowed the eviction of the locals.
Understatement
Mathew's hatred for Black adults is downplayed when the narrator says he loves teaching Black children.
Allusions
The story alludes to Steven L. Foy's narrative on Racism in America.
Imagery
The earlier appearance of Malaga Island is described to depict a sense of sight to readers. The narrator says, "A hurricane struck in September of 1815, twenty years after Benjamin and Patience Honey had come to the island and began the settlement, by which time thirty people were living there, in five or six houses." The imagery paints a picture of a sparsely populated island in the early 18th century.
Paradox
The primary paradox is that Mathew says he loves Black children, but hates Black adults.
Parallelism
n/a
Metonymy and Synecdoche
n/a
Personification
A hurricane that strikes the island is personified as inhumane.
