The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Literary Elements

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Literary Elements

Genre

Drama, coming of age

Setting and Context

1930s, Scotland

Narrator and Point of View

Omniscient narrator who appears to travel back and forth through time
PoV stays mostly with Sandy

Tone and Mood

Tone is light, mood turns to somber as the plot progresses

Protagonist and Antagonist

Sandy is the protagonist; Miss Jean Brodie is the antagonist

Major Conflict

Major conflict is of Sandy who adores Miss Brodie but is also aware of her persuasive and selfish nature that led to the death of Emily Joyce

Climax

The point of high tension is when it is revealed that Sandy betrayed Miss Jean Brodie leading to her expulsion from the school.

Foreshadowing

Since, the narrator seems to be travelling back and forth in time, there are many instances of foreshadowing, like Mary’s death in hotel fire, betrayal of Miss Brodie by one of her girls

Understatement

Miss Brodie often dismisses Sandy and appreciative of Rose whom she considered beautiful and hence a perfect person for Mr. Lloyd to have a sexual liaison with. However, its Sandy who ends up having an affair with him.

Allusions

Miss Brodie often says that she is trying to ‘educate’ them, to lead out what is in them already, thus making them individuals. However, Miss Brodie is so controlling of them, that the Brodie set become like a cult with Miss Brodie as a centre. They are aware of her dismissal of modern education, her petty political plots, and even her plans to have Rose sleep with Mr. Lloyd, a senior married man, and yet they go ahead with it. There are allusions of a cult or a government that works on propaganda to defend its own unfair and dangerous practices

Imagery

The strongest imagery is of Mary Macgregor’s death. She runs helter skelter looking for a way out in the hotel lobby, and without supervision as she had been used to since her days with Miss Brodie, dies after stumbling at a turn.

Paradox

Miss Brodie often says that her style of education is based on the root of the word, ‘educate’, which means ‘to lead out’. However, Miss Brodie often tries to discourage them from any ideas they develop on their own and is constantly trying to influence their lives.

Parallelism

There is a parallelism in the way Mary Macgregor dies, and her first failed experiment with magnesium. At both events, she runs helter-skelter unable to find her bearings.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

NA

Personification

Miss Brodie often talks about her prime. She never reveals what it truly meant, but her prime becomes a character in itself.

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