Genre
Novel
Setting and Context
America; 20th century (the 1990s)
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrator
Tone and Mood
Audacious, hysterical, ambitious, and exciting.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Vladimir Girshkin-Protagonist. Mr. Rybakov and the Mafia-Antagonists.
Major Conflict
Vladimir Girshkin’s endeavors to accomplish financial stability and to impress his parents.
Climax
Vladimir’s happenstance with the antagonistic and petrifying skinheads who ruthlessly assault him.
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
Vladimir belittles his accomplishments when he likens himself to his mother (a she-wolf): "The apple has fallen far from the apple tree, as they say. Mother may be a she-wolf, but look at me..."
Allusions
Historical allusions such as the Second World War and historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin.
Allusion to the Jewish religion.
Imagery
Immigrants at "Emma Lazarus Immigrant Absorption Society" are diverse, and they hunger for the American dream.
Paradox
The Fan Man employs paradox when he says, "I'm psychotic…But I'm no idiot." A psychotic individual is prone to engage in idiotic deeds.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
'Ivy Leaguers' denotes individuals educated in high-status universities.
Personification
Rybakov personifies the Fan when he gives it the capability of singing.
