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Genre

Child of the Dark is a nonfiction memoir written in the form of a diary.

Narrator

The narrator is Carolina Maria de Jesus, writing diary entries from July 1955 through January 1960. Carolina also serves as the protagonist of Child of the Dark.

Point of View

There is a first person point of view. The reader is privy to the thoughts and point of view of de Jesus exclusively.

Tone

The tone of Child of the Dark is matter-of-fact and realistic. Occasionally it is humorous and poetic.

Tense

The memoir is delivered both the past and present tenses.

Setting (Time & Place)

Child of the Dark is set in the late 1950s. It takes place in the favela (shantytown) in São Paulo, Brazil.

Major Conflict

Carolina’s day-to-day conflicts revolve around providing for her three children, and the larger conflict concerns how Carolina will find her way out of the favela.

Rising Action

Because the diary focuses on the day-to-day details of de Jesus’s real life, there is no rising action per se, though the impending publication of Carolina’s diary does provide some forward momentum.

Climax

Because this is not a work of fiction, usual narrative rules do not apply. However, Child of the Dark does have a climax in the publication of Carolina’s diary in a weekly magazine.

Falling Action

Carolina’s diary is published and yet her life does not change.

Foreshadowing

There is little foreshadowing in Child of the Dark. Carolina reports events as they happen, without artifice.

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