The Opening Line Of The Middle Of Things - 1482 Words

In the opening chapter of Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy uses the technique of in medias res, which translates from Latin to â€Å"in the middle of things†, to establish the central themes of his novel. The opening line of the book serves as somewhat of a thesis statement for the seven-hundred pages that follow – that is, Tolstoy asserts the unique nature of unhappy families to preface a book about several strained familial relationships. In the next sentence, Tolstoy establishes the novel’s chaotic tone, describing everything in the Oblonskys’ household as being â€Å"upset†. The rest of the paragraph features a series of syntactically similar sentences in the past perfect tense that discuss, in a methodical way, the causes and effects of this†¦show more content†¦Finally, in the third paragraph, the reader is introduced to the first character, Stiva, whom they are told is a prince. Tolstoy uses luxurious diction to demonstrate Stiva’s lifestyle, referencing his â€Å"morocco leather-covered sofa† and his â€Å"plump, well-kept body†. At the point the reader is introduced to Stiva, he has had a sudden awakening. The authorial voice then switches from that of an omniscient third person to the conscious thoughts of Stiva Oblonsky. In this manner, the paragraph is very similar to the stream-of-consciousness style that would become so important during early-twentieth century literary movements. In doing this, Tolstoy both allows us the same incomplete impression of Stiva’s dream that Stiva has, and ties the dream with the light, surreal sentiment it evokes in Stiva. This technique also plays with the themes of memory and perception that were so integral to Tolstoy’s early works. The dream features a party with fantastic imagery of singing glass tables and â€Å"little decanters that [are] also women†. This fantasy-party is set in America, about as far from Petersburg as possible, whi ch points to a pervading tendency for escapism in the Russian nobility at this time of social upheaval. Indeed, at several points in the novel, characters flee Russia when met with adversity, as when Kitty gets sick and Anna reconnects with Vronsky.Show MoreRelatedBetween The World And Me By Richard Wright715 Words   |  3 Pagesfirst person’s narrative voice. The poem contains structured lines and visual division into three stanzas. Moreover, there is one more type of division in the poem. The author uses an ellipsis four times throughout the poem. This punctuation mark frames the poem into the timeline, where the historical past of the African American poet becomes the present experience of any human, despite the race. The climax of the poem is presented in the middle of stanza two. 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