Genre 

Novel of the California Experience

Narrator 

Authorial narration

Point of view 

Omniscient

Tone 

Comical, playful, straightforward

Tense 

Past

Setting (time) 

Primarily post World War I, with the preface occurring before the war—during prohibition

Setting (place) 

Tortilla Flat, California, above the town of Monterey

Protagonist 

Danny

Major conflict 

Free living versus comfort and age

Rising action 

The paisanos partake in several adventures in which they help the poor, rob the rich, and drink lots of wine; Danny's melancholy grows throughout

Climax 

Danny's Party

Falling action 

Danny's Funeral

Foreshadowing 

Danny's growing melancholy and restlessness is hinted at throughout the paisanos' early adventures.