Genre
Comical fiction
Setting and Context
Set in Everton and California in the 20th century.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Relaxed and capricious
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Emma, and the antagonists are the police, who intentionally ignore assisting the drug addicts.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is between Emma and the police officers. The police intentionally ignore any attempt to look for drug addicts.
Climax
The climax comes when Emma reveals to her family that she dropped out of campus and never graduated.
Foreshadowing
Emma’s decision to abscond her studies foreshadows the loss of her healing gift.
Understatement
There is an understatement when the author writes that Emma's brother is cool. In reality, he is a drug addict.
Allusions
The story alludes to the negative impact of drug addiction in Everton.
Imagery
The picture of suffering is painted in the readers’ minds when the author describes the deplorable life of Emma in California.
Paradox
The irony is that the police tasked with serving all people equally is doing the opposite. According to the police in Everton, they do not waste their time looking for drug addicts.
Parallelism
n/a
Metonymy and Synecdoche
n/a
Personification
Emma’s healing gift is personified as having the ability to communicate with her.
