The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Literary Elements

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Literary Elements

Genre

Short Story, Russian Literature.

Setting and Context

An un-specified city in Russia.

Narrator and Point of View

The point of view is that of the man who is experiencing frustration and confusion with life.

Tone and Mood

Depressed, futile, hopeless, lackadaisical, remorseful, introspective, hopeful.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The man is both protagonist and antagonist, as in many ways he is his own worst enemy.

Major Conflict

There is conflict within the man when he realizes that he feels guilty for being so unkind to the little girl, but believes he should not feel this if his view of the world is accurate and true.

Climax

The man wakes up from his dream changed, loving life and grateful for it too.

Foreshadowing

The man's encounter with the little girl foreshadows the strange turn of events and ultimately the complete turnaround in his character and view of the world.

Understatement

The man describes himself as feeling ennui and listlessness which is a huge understatement since he does not kill himself purely because he cannot be bothered to.

Allusions

N/A

Imagery

The imagery is Dickensian in nature and in particular the dream imagery conjures up a sort of hallucinogenic experience that the reader is able to imagine both visually and also audibly.

Paradox

The man believes that life is futile and that nothing matters, yet he feels terribly guilty about scaring the little girl off without offering to help her or offer solace to her.

Parallelism

There is a parallel between the way in which the man sees the need for love and kindness in the context of his dream and the changes he makes in his life when he wakes up.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The man uses the term "the world" to represent the people living in the world.

Personification

N/A

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