Literary Devices in Something Happened
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
This dude needs to get outside more.Though we can guess that Slocum's office is located in New York City, and though we know he lives in the suburbs of Connecticut, we rarely leave the interiors of...
Narrator Point of View
If you've ever wanted to read minds, this is your chance. The entire story takes place within the mind of Bob Slocum. Even conversations and dialogue are shared as Slocum remembers them, not necess...
Genre
Show of hands: who knows anything about postmodernism? Anyone? Yeah, let's review.One of the hallmarks of postmodernism is fragmentation, and Something Happened is all about fragmentation. We're in...
Tone
Slocum's thoughts are meant to be taken with a hint of irony. He's kind of a funny guy, in fact. Take that time when his daughter threatens to run away, for example. Dude's response? "Sure, go ahea...
Writing Style
Oh, if our minds contained cabinets to organize our thoughts into neat files. Think how much better off Slocum would be.Unfortunately, Slocum's brain contains no such system of organization to make...
What's Up With the Title?
Something Happened. Well, that's just it. Something happened. But we begin with a lot of questions. What happened? When did it happen? Did it happen to Slocum? To someone he knows? Slocum offers us...
What's Up With the Ending?
Something certainly happens at the end of this novel, and it's actually something that's been hinted at throughout the story. Slocum constantly tell us he's worried that something terrible might ha...
Tough-o-Meter
It's all sex, drugs, and alcohol for Bob Slocum. Okay, minus the drugs. But Something Happened is far from a Leave It to Beaver depiction of suburban American life. The book is kind of complex in i...
Plot Analysis
Bob Slocum lets us into his world. He reveals his fears and anxieties, and once that's over and done with, he tells us he lives in a typical suburban home with three kids and a wife. Outside of his...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
The anticipation is killing us here. Right from the book's opening pages, Slocum fears that something's going to happen either to him or to someone he knows. He makes very clear his fears and anxie...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
This Provincial LifeWe enter Slocum's personal and professional worlds and learn about his past, his present, and his hopes for the future. A long, long time ago, he worked for an auto insurance cl...
Trivia
Something Happened was Heller's pride and joy, taking him nearly thirteen years to complete. The author was so certain he had created a masterpiece that he kept copies of the manuscript in various...
Steaminess Rating
Warning: this work contains explicit sexual content. Don't say we didn't warn you. Slocum does not hold back from describing (in full detail) his lust for Virginia, sexual encounters with prostitut...
Allusions
Sigmund FreudJohn F. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy