Your Name _Max Bickel______________ Date _10/15/14____ Genre: _Biography________

Literary Analysis
The Man Behind the Gun

Bibliographic Information: Wyckoff, E. (2011). The man behind the gun: Samuel Colt and his
revolver. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow.
Plot:
Is there an identifiable climax? How do events build to a climax? The climax of the book is when
Samuel Colt invents the revolver. The events before were inventions that allowed him to gain the finances
to progress his idea.
Is there a logical series of happenings? Yes the book begins with Samuel Colt at Amherst Academy and
progresses through his invention of the revolver until his death during the Revolutionary War.
Setting:
Where does the story take place? The story takes place in America. It does not go into detail about
which states in particular.
Does the story transcend the setting and have universal implications? His inventions were the
deciding factor during the revolutionary war. They revolutionized what a firearm was and was the model
for how all firearms are built today.
Theme:
N/A This story does not have an actual theme. It is about the life of Samuel Colt and his inventions.
Characterization:
Do you see the characters strength and weaknesses? Yes in the story you see how Colt does not like to
follow the rules and often does things his own way. An example of this is when he was kicked out of
Amherst Academy for firing a pistol while attending. However he also has the drive to succeed with new
ideas even when it is difficult to proceed.
How does the author reveal the characters? The main character Colt is introduced in the beginning of
the story because the book is about him. Other people mentioned in the book were all revealed through
narration when they had an effect of Colts life.
Style:
Is the style of writing appropriate to the subject? The book is told in a concise and clear way. It allows
you to learn about Colt and his life without being distracted by unnecessary details.
Is the style straightforward or figurative? The story is written in a straightforward manner. It gives you
the facts of his life and inventions. It takes most of the bias ideas or opinions out of the book to present
the facts.

Point of View:
Is the point of view that the story is told appropriate to the subject? Yes, third person is the best way
to tell a story about an individual. It allows the reader to see how a person affects no only their own life
but also the lives of all those around them.
Are cultural perspectives highlighted in multiple points of view? No the story is only written through
the one point of view. It does however show how the culture is viewed differently as Colt progressing
through his years and grows older.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Theme The theme is not clear within the story. It focuses on the Life of Colt but doesnt go much into the
reasons behind his actions.
Accuracy and Authenticity The backs of many of the pages have blueprints of Samuel Colts Inventions
including his original revolver sketches. It does a good job of presenting the facts to the reader.
Choice of Subject Samuel Colt and his revolver is a topic that interest many people. It affected so much
of the world and changed how every countries military fought. Any type of military interested readers
would enjoy the book.
Reflections: (What are your impressions? Connections to past or future plans? Insights?, etc.)

I was interested in Colt and his inventions ever since I first saw a TV special on discovery
channel. Since this book did such a good job of presenting the occurrences in his life and his
inventions is interested me because I could compare what I read with information I learned from
the show. A book like this could be extremely helpful when teaching students about inventors
and scientific ideas. The technical drawings in the book would also be helpful in many ways.
When students do their LDC projects a book like this could also give them many good ideas.