In the First Circle Literary Elements

In the First Circle Literary Elements

Genre

Semi-Autobiographical Fiction

Setting and Context

The Suburbs of Moscow, December 1949

Narrator and Point of View

Told from a third-person point of view

Tone and Mood

Oppressive, Violent, Solemn, Sad, Chaotic, and Paranoid.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Gleb Nerzhin (Protagonist) vs. Joseph Stalin (Antagonist)

Major Conflict

The conflict between normal people (particularly intellectuals) and the oppressive Soviet leadership.

Climax

When Volodin is arrested.

Foreshadowing

Volodin's arrest is foreshadowed throughout the book

Understatement

Soviet High Command's insanity and ineptitude is understated throughout the book

Allusions

To Solzhenitsyn's own life, the history of the Soviet Union and the world as a whole, geography, the Bible, and popular culture.

Imagery

In the First Circle, Solzhenitsyn uses harsh imagery used to evoke the Soviet Unions paranoia.

Paradox

Volodin makes the phone call knowing he will eventually be found out and arrested, yet still makes the call.

Parallelism

The story of the countless Soviet citizens and the oppressive regime they had to live under is paralleled throughout the book.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The NKVD = People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs

Personification

Dishonesty and deceit are personified throughout the book.

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