Decline and Fall Literary Elements

Decline and Fall Literary Elements

Genre

Fiction, Satire

Setting and Context

Oxford, England, Llanabba, Wales

Narrator and Point of View

The point of view is that of Paul Pennyfeather.

Tone and Mood

Scathing, satirical, cruel, poking fun

Protagonist and Antagonist

Paul Pennyfeather is the protagonist. His upbringing and duty to finish college are the antagonistic features of his ilfe.

Major Conflict

There is conflict between Paul and the Dean of Scone College when he is caught running drunkenly in college grounds without his pants on.

Climax

Paul fakes his own death and returns to Scone College as a student.

Foreshadowing

Involvement with the heavy drinking Bollinger Club foreshadows Paul's drunken expulsion from Scone.

Understatement

N/A

Allusions

The title of the book alludes to "The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire" which Waugh studied in college.

Imagery

N/A

Paradox

Paul returns to the place where his life first starts to unravel and despite hating the fact that he has to earn a degree in order to keep his inheritance, studies hard in order to do so.

Parallelism

There is a parallel between Paul's drinking and the decline in his behavior.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Scone College is the term used to represent the figures of authority and the faculty there.

Personification

Scone is also personified; for example, Scone disapproves of Paul's behavior, when in reality a brick and mortar location cannot pass judgement on anything.

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