Wild Houses Literary Elements

Literary Fiction / Thriller

The novel is set in a small town in County Mayo, located in the rural west of Ireland.

The novel employs a third-person omniscient narrator.

The tone is bleak, introspective, and darkly humorous. The mood is oppressive.

Protagonist: Dev Hendrick; Antagonist: Dev's emotional paralysis and the oppressive small-town environment

The major conflict revolves around Dev’s internal struggle with isolation, guilt, and his inability to move forward in life. This is complicated by the external conflict when Doll is forcibly brought into his home as part of a kidnapping scheme orchestrated by his cousins, Gabe and Sketch. The clash between Dev’s desire for solitude and the forced involvement in criminal activity creates tension.

The climax occurs when Doll attempts to escape from the house, leading to a violent confrontation.

The introduction of the basement early in the novel foreshadows its later use as a prison for Doll. The details about the basement’s darkness and confined space hint at the darker turn the story will take.

Barrett uses understatement to describe emotional pain or critical moments, downplaying significant events to emphasize the detachment of his characters. For example, Dev’s reaction to his mother’s death is subtly muted.

There are allusions to small-town Irish life and the influence of Catholicism on the community, as well as references to the Irish economic downturn.

“The garden was big and empty, bordered by a concrete wall... All was void.”

This empty, barren imagery reflects the emotional desolation of Dev and others.

The paradox in Dev’s character is that, despite his large physical stature, he is emotionally and mentally passive. His physical size contrasts with his inability to assert himself or make a mark on the world.

The parallelism between Dev’s and Doll’s struggles is evident throughout the novel. Both are trapped by circumstances beyond their control.

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Barrett personifies the setting to emphasize the harshness of the environment. The Atlantic Ocean is depicted almost as an antagonist, relentless and threatening.