The Story’s Epigraphs The two epigraphs that precede ‘‘The Aleph’’ serve as introductions to the story’s plot as well as short commentaries on its issues. The first, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is said by the title character to his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: ‘‘O God! I could be bound in a nutshell, and count myself a…
Tag: Literary Devices
What We Cannot Speak About We Must Pass Over in Silence – Literary Devices
Stream of Consciousness In this story, Wideman uses a stream-ofconsciousness and experimental language, both reminiscent of the work of the Irish novelist James Joyce (1882–1941). Stream-of-consciousness presents an interior monologue of the narrator, allowing us to see inside the mind of the character as it associates ideas and moves along in a flow of thoughts….
Someone to Talk To by Deborah Eisenberg – Literary Devices
Point of View “Someone to Talk To” is written in the third person limited omniscient; however, because the reader has access to only Aaron Shapiro’s thoughts and emotions, and no one else’s, the effect is similar to that of a first-person narrative. This is important, because otherwise readers would not experience the psychological upheaval that…
Paris 1991 – Literary Devices
Imagery Walbert uses selected images to convey a scene, focusing on certain details to describe a street or view through a window. Her style is reminiscent of the Imagists, including Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell, a group of American and British poets in the second decade of the twentieth century who were noted for the…
The Necessary Grace to Fall – Literary Devices
Imagery of the Human Body The story contains much imagery of the human body in its different forms. Leonard’s muscular physique is emphasized, as is the physical presence of the corpse of Svea Johnson. But the main examples are in reference to Howard. Unlike Leonard, who is extremely comfortable inside his own skin, Howard is…
The Middleman by Bharati Mukherjee – Literary Devices
Setting The unnamed Central American country is evoked in full sensory detail. The weather is hot and soon the rains will come, but at the moment it is “so dry it could scratch your lungs.” The wildlife is exotic: “Bright feathered birds screech, snakeskins glitter, as the jungle peels away. Iguanas the size of wallabies…
Melon by Julian Barnes – Literary Devices
Symbolism Barnes conveys the significance of the story through the use of symbols. One of the most obvious symbols is the game of cricket. To Sir Hamilton, cricket represents a community of rich and poor, brought together by individual skills. Barnes uses the game as a means of revealing social assumptions. The privileged aristocrats enjoy…
Meeting Mrinal – Literary Devices
Setting The story is set in two locations: India, where Asha was brought up and married and which is presented only in her memories and California in the United States, where she now lives. As well as being two separate countries, India and the United States have two different cultures and sets of social expectations….
Last Courtesies – Literary Devices
Suspense Suspense in this short story is created out of fear of others. Vladimir is so eccentric he is hard to understand. His emotions are unstable and some of his actions are unsociable. He is as likely to explode as he is to read poetry or play a piano composition by Bach. So when the…
Immortality by Yiyun Li – Literary Devices
Point of View and Setting The point of view from which the story is told is an unusual one, since the narrator is not an individual voice but a collective one: the members of the town stretching over a period spanning many generations. This point of view effectively conveys a sense of community; the town…