Key Facts
full title · Legs
author · William Kennedy
type of work · Novel
genre · Fictional memoir
language · English
time and place written · 1975, United States
date of first publication · 1975
publisher · Penguin Books
narrator · Marcus Gorman
point of view · The narrator speaks in the third person, generally focusing on the perspective of Jack Diamond. Occasionally stories are narrated from the perspective of another character, sometimes in the first person.
tone · Serious; fond; penetrating; reminiscent
tense · Past
setting (time) · Late 1920s–1930s
setting (place) · Upstate New York, New York City, and, briefly, Europe
protagonist · Jack "Legs" Diamond
major conflict · Jack struggles against the state, local, and federal police agencies, as well as against other mobsters
rising action · Jack's trip to Europe to sell drugs; his refusal to return Jimmy Biondo's money
climax · Jack is shot in late 1930, while Kiki Roberts is in the shower
falling action · Jack's torture of Clem Streeter
themes · The appeal of villainy; the American Dream
motifs · Cats; Jack's rosary; canaries
symbols · Kiki's fudge; the machine gun; the all-seeing eye
foreshadowing · Alice's "Mormon" dream
