The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Literary Elements

The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Literary Elements

Genre

Autobiographical

Setting and Context

Switzerland during the 1700s.

Narrator and Point of View

Rousseau narrates the book in the first-person.

Tone and Mood

The tone is intriguing; the mood is tense.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Rousseau is the protagonist; education is the antagonist.

Major Conflict

The major conflict of the book occurs when Rousseau begins to describe his education and early life, as if he is reliving it while he writes.

Climax

The climax of the book is reached when Rousseau dives into the method behind his works and explains the significance of each publication.

Foreshadowing

The fact that Rousseau includes humiliating moments is foreshadowed by his seemingly open character.

Understatement

The importance of truth is understated throughout the book.

Allusions

The book alludes to the impacts that childhood played at the time.

Imagery

The imagery of growing up and changing is present in the book.

Paradox

The fact that the autobiography contains many factual inaccuracies is an example of paradox in the story.

Parallelism

There is a parallel between Rousseau's own life and the story described in the book.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

N/A

Personification

N/A

Update this section!

You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.

Update this section

After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.

Cite this page