PLOT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS

The most obvious structure is the twenty-four hour time frame of the novel and how chapters are broken down to different times of day. Specific times are not given as chapter headings (for example, "Midnight to 4 AM") and there is often confusion about what is the exact time during certain events. This creates a more organic sense of time and its passing, which helps reinforce the notion of a simpler age that was more in touch with the natural rhythms of the world.

One can also posit that the memoir aspect of the narration - clear indications that Adam is telling his story a considerable time after they occurred - is behind this structural decision. That is, Adam the narrator is focusing on what's important to him in his own present day, and in doing so the sense of time becomes even more elastic, reflecting the older Adam's sensibility as much as the younger Adam's who acts in this story.

Another structure worth considering is the movement from order to chaos and back. The novel begins with a strong sense of order with the family and the Lexington community, which is then rendered asunder by the massacre of colonials - and the disruption of both the Cooper family and Lexington. In the sense that Adam proceeds to leave his ordered life to oppose the.........


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