Genre
Fiction, Novel
Setting and Context
The novel takes place in New York, as from the 1950s to the 1990s.
Narrator and Point of View
Judd Mulvaney is the first-person narrator.
Tone and Mood
Solidarity, reflective, disillusionment, traumatizing, depression, vengeance, devotion.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Mulvaneys are the protagonists. Zack Lundt is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The Mulvaneys sticking together through the externally-caused tragedies and trauma that befall their family.
Climax
The family’s reunion which transpires on 4th July 1993.
Foreshadowing
Corinne’s act of running over “something dashing in front of the station wagon,” foreshadows of the family’s forthcoming trauma that will commence once it is disclosed that Marianne was sexually assaulted.
Understatement
Marianne understates Zack Lundt’s role in the assault when she claims that accusing him of rape would be equivalent to “bearing false witness.” She overstates her culpability by claiming that she was involved in drinking, which she surmises contributed to her being raped.
Allusions
Legal and religious allusions are incorporated in the novel. Oates alludes to science by citing Darwin and Einstein.
Imagery
Drunkenness largely contributes to the Mulvaneys' trauma: Marianne's rape ensues when she is drunk, her father sinks into alcoholism in the aftermath of her rape, and it makes him get into a fight. Besides, Mike Jr.'s drunkenness contributes to the family's plight as well, particularly when he gets into an accident.
Paradox
Marianne is stigmatized and punished for years after her rape, yet she was the victim.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Abuse, assault, taking advantage of, hurt" refer to Marianne's rape.
Personification
N/A
