Falsely deifies the center of its own (at first) ostensibly rather formula-reliant narrative as a means to compose an atmosphere perpetually rich with illusions of grandeur and dramatic irony.

Eggers' visual prose illustrates Amleth's deluded vision of both himself and his own self-worth. Amleth believes that his legacy will be eternally extended by the tangible branch of an ethereal tree that very waveringly upholds some semblance of a family. This family tree is deeply and irreparably atrophied by generational trauma, pervaded by an unrelenting fragility that may never release its grasp upon the bloodline. 

In Amleth's blinding naiveté, he seeks revenge as a means to mend dually the great emotional and physical wounds he's suffered: a fool's conquest. It can only conclude in his demise, for only death lies in wait for a self-actualized faux messiah; there's no valor to be found in his heart of hearts. He is merely a loser chasing an impossible dream.