Literary Devices in 20th Century Literature
Uploaded by flebonhed2 on Jan 17, 2006
Literary Devices in 20th Century Literature
After WWII and during the beginning of the Cold War, much was thought and much was said about government and about the contemporary culture in general. This is reflected in many of the literary works of the time, and even before that time, as many of the Marxist and socialist principles were well known. Some of the works include symbolism, some include metaphors, some include satire, and some have other methods. Regardless on which device is used, the messages that these books come across with are usually very clear and there is not really any grey area to what the books are all about. They all share similar themes and ideas, most of which are undoubtedly satirical in their form, and all of which include at least some element of the author’s life incorporated into the work. The bottom line of the books usually attacks totalitarian government and government control, but not necessarily just Communist governments; some books aim at capitalism as well.
The novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, does not have any hidden meaning or symbolism; the book was written in a time of war and was made to make a political statement. Everything that is written in the book was done with a purpose, all of which reflects Orwell’s personal life influences and ideas. Orwell claimed that Animal Farm was the first book he wrote in which he knew exactly what he was doing, joining political and artistic purpose into one literary novel (Brunsdale 122). Some of the story was based on Orwell’s life experiences and exposure, while other parts were based on the political message he was attempting to make. Although it attacks totalitarian governments of the time, this is not to say that Orwell was exactly a fan of the British government either, as he saw the possibly of government corruption and totalitarianism arising in any form of government, not only Nazis and Communists. For this reason, he wrote to attack not only Communism, but also capitalism; but in this case, with Animal Farm, most of the symbols and literary devices lean towards attacking Communism. Most of the characters and events directly correspond with a Cold War figure or event.
Within the book, each character or group of characters has a specific political significance in this allegory portraying Communist Russia....