Finnegans Wake Literary Elements

Finnegans Wake Literary Elements

Genre

Novel

Setting and Context

20th century experimental and modernist literature

Narrator and Point of View

Third-person narrative

Tone and Mood

The sad, cheerless and hopeless

Protagonist and Antagonist

The title character is Finnegan.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is when the body of Finnegan vanishes after his wife prepares it for burial.

Climax

The climax is when a rumor erupts that HCE is accused of sexually molesting young girls at the park.

Foreshadowing

The talking donkey foreshadows the spirit of Shaun's dead father.

Understatement

The claims that HCE is a child molester is understated. However, the rumour intends to taint the reputation of his family.

Allusions

The story alludes to imaginative fantasies.

Imagery

The imagery of death and rebirth paints a picture of the mystery of life.

Paradox

The paradox is when someone spills whiskey on the casket, and Finnegan wakes up from death to drink for the last time.

Parallelism

N/A

Metonymy and Synecdoche

N/A

Personification

A talking donkey is personified.

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