Structure

Boyle rejects a traditional chronological structure for a more fragmented form that juxtaposes vignettes from Robert's past with the story of Robert's present to illustrate his self-destructive lifestyle. This structure also suggests the inevitability of Robert's death at the end of the story.

Foreshadowing

Boyle uses foreshadowing to hint at what will happen to Robert on his last night at the House Party Club. Near the beginning of the story, the narrator goes back into the past to the time when Robert was fifteen, and he watched a poisoned dog named Loup die. Loup suffered a slow, agonizing death, as he tore at his cramped stomach until his intestines spilled out onto the ground. Boyle uses the dog's death to forecast Ida Mae's poisoning of Robert and his subsequent death.

Postmodernism

Postmodernism is a literary period that is generally considered to have begun after World War II. Postmodernist...