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
