Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
Set in the 20th century in Indiana and Illinois, America
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Sad, melancholic, distressing, disheartening
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Zorrie Underwood.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is that Zorrie experiences several tragedies in her early life. For instance, Zorrie is orphaned early and becomes homeless when her aunt dies.
Climax
The climax is when Zorrie returns to Indiana from Illinois, and she falls in love with her employer's son, Harold.
Foreshadowing
Zorrie’s troubled life was foreshadowed by her parent’s death when she was young.
Understatement
The Great Depression of 1930 is understated. Despite this crisis affecting business, the lower class people such as Zorries were the most hit.
Allusions
The story alludes to an individual's hardships after losing both parents.
Imagery
The imagery of radioactivity depicts sight, which helps readers understand the yellowing of Zorrie's teeth and those of her fellow workers at the radium factory.
Paradox
The main paradox is that the people working in the Radium Dial Company think that the radioactive substance is healthy.
Parallelism
There is parallelism between poverty and Zorrie's daily life struggles.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The radioactive substance is personified as healthy by the employees.
