Arrowsmith Literary Elements

Medical Fiction

The story is set during the first decades of the 20th century, and covers a large selection of towns and cities starting with Martin’s hometown of Elk Mills, then the fictional town of Winnemac where he went to university, then North Dakota where he had settled after his first marriage, Pittsburgh, Chicago, New York, and finally Vermont where he dedicated his life to research accompanied by his friend Terry.

Third-person point of view, omniscient narrator with full access to the characters’ thoughts and feelings.

The tone of the novel is serious, sometimes bitter to match the mental state of the central character. The mood is sometimes dark and oppressive to convey the seriousness of the protagonist’s situation and his limited career's options.

Martin Arrowsmith is the central character and the protagonist of the tale. While there is no central antagonist in the story, this position is filled by several individuals who come in Martin’s way, and impede his progress like the new director of the institute.

The major conflict of the plot concerns Martin’s progress as a researcher, and his fight for truth and science against antagonistic powers, loaded with money and power, who want to use his genius merely to generate money.

The story reaches its climax when Gottlieb is pensioned and a new director is assigned to the institution. Here, Martin’s progress is checked, and his quest for truth and science is met by the new director’s entirely financial schemes.

Martin’s inability to settle in Wheatsylvania, as a country doctor, foreshadows his strong ambition of serving science and research instead of money and position.

The antagonistic powers of the novel, through such characters as the new director of the institute, underestimate the value of science and only care about the financial benefits of research.

The character of Gottlieb is based on that of German biologist Jacques Loeb and is therefore an allusion to a real life scientist.

Martin’s progress in not just intellectual. He constantly moves from town to another and from this city to that in quest of knowledge. The imagery of the setting is, therefore, closely linked to his goals and progress. His laboratory, for instance, is the only source of light, in the dead of night in a symbolic representation of his intentions and ambitions in comparison with his fellow researchers, who were then asleep while he toiled alone at night.

Although Martin’s dearest wish was to become the next Robert Koch, he gave in to the pressure of his wife’s family and settled for a spell in North Dakota, where he had no chance of doing anything of the kind.

The novel parallels the progress of scientists like Martin, who would dedicate their whole lives, and give everything for the sake of knowledge and science, with those of the opponent faction, who were only concerned with the financial gain of their research and discoveries.

Metonymy:
“He was lecturing through America, and his exclamatory assertions were syndicated in the press”
The word “press” is used, here, as a metonymy to the world of journalism.

Synecdoche:
“Watters took them in hand and kept them there.”
The word “Hand” is used as a synecdoche to represent Watters’ protection of Martin and his wife.

“What the laboratory teaches about Epidemics.”
The laboratory is given human aspects and characteristics, namely being able to teach something.