Genre
A novel
Setting and Context
The action takes place in the provincial city in the early autumn and in the estate of Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator of the novel is a first person Anton Lavrentyevich G-v. He is a young man from the high society and the closest friend of Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky.
Tone and Mood
The novel is narrated in a very intelligent and ironic tone. In general, the whole novel is based on irony, and even the dialogues between the characters have a certain irony. Perhaps, the author wants to show the hypocrisy of high society and make fun of it.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Almost all the characters are antagonists, because none of them is a good person with a bright and fair soul. All of them have hypocrisy, envy and demons, which have a negative impact on their behavior.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is based on the struggle between good and evil and the struggle of the little man with the big villains. In the novel "Demons", evil is nihilism, which was present in Russian society. Here the conflict of man as the representative of the Russian confused intelligentsia is generated.
Climax
The split of Stavrogin reaches its climax during the conversation with Dasha, when he admits that he is visited by a demon. The novel reaches its climax - demons are omnipotent, they sow death and hate around themselves...
Foreshadowing
The novel “Demons” is a formidable foreshadowing, in which the writer foresees the social catastrophe and the appearance of revolutionaries like Nechayev. These people are able to reach "freedom, equality and universal happiness", clambering over each other. This foreshadowing is relevant at all times.
Understatement
There is an understatement when the narrator says that Stepan Trofimovich shows his character of a "fifty-year-old baby". The narrator clearly understates the character's age to specifically convey Stepan's behavior.
Allusions
The novel alludes to the murder case of the student Ivan Ivanov, which was conceived by Sergey Gennadiyevich Nechayev. It also alludes to such geographical positions as Europe, Egypt, Jerusalem, Iceland, Paris, Russia, Switzerland and others.
Imagery
See the imagery section
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel of Angel and Demon in the novel. The reader can observe this fight between Good and Evil in every character. Unfortunately, almost all the characters choose the side of Evil.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Despite her insanity, the heroine Marya Timofeevna Lebyadkina personifies the Gospel holy, childish simplicity.
