The Man of the Crowd Analysis
The Man of the Crowd is a short story of Edgar Allan Poe. The Man of the Crowd analysis has many elements like symbolism, irony, and themes. First of all, its themes are going to be discussed that are:
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1. Curiosity:
In the story, the narrator seemed very curious about things and people in the hotel of London and outside of it as well. He observed his company and newspaper advertisements in the hotel. The author, mainly, perceived the crowd outside his shop through its window panes, and he divided the throng into different sections of the society like clerks, gamblers, sweepers, exhausted labourers, and porters etcetera. He got affected by his level of curiosity so much that he, even, followed a weird looking old man for the whole day and finally decided to leave him because of that man's continuous walking from one site to another. Poe wants to show the level of unfair concern which people have for others' affairs in the form of the detective narrator. He also wants to show the restless human psyche which is always in search of something new as explained by the narrator's actions in the hotel and outside of it as well.
2. Loneliness:
The old man hated to remain alone even for some time. He always tried to stay with some company of people for not feeling isolation during his journey on various paths of the city. That wanderer represents childlike insecurity of loneliness; his unending walk indicates life which never stops. The narrator says at the end that this old man is a great criminal for hating loneliness. That man conflicts with his era's tradition which is isolation. Throughout the story, the old man tries to remain within the company of people, but the people do not show any regard and leave him alone.
3. Class differences:
The narrator classified people as being different regarding dressing styles, gaits, facial expressions, and figures etcetera in The Man of the Crowd. He also mentioned their professions from their appearances; he perceived them as junior clerks, senior clerks, gamblers, and pick-pockets etcetera for their outlooks and movements. Also, the storyteller shows that the class consciousness which everyone obeys except the oddly-behaving old man is responsible for attitude differences among classes.
Symbolism and other literary devices:
The symbols and other literary devices of The Man of the Crowd are:
The old man as a symbol:
The old man is a symbol of life due to his constant motion in the story. This man moves on like life for not stopping for anything. He also indicates childlike insecurity which happens in childhood and old age as well.
The narrator as a symbol:
The narrator is a symbol of social intelligence because he gets to know about people's classes and professions by observing their respective outlooks and body languages on the road.
Genre:
The short story is mysterious due to the odd behaviour (continuous and restless walking) of some old man. Also, the narrator told that he pursued that old man in the areas of London for knowing the secret behind his weird behaviour in the crowd of people. So, the whole story moved mainly around the weirdness of the aged man. That aged person's secret was that he always wanted some company with himself so that he could not remain lonely.
Style:
The writing style of this tale is narrative and mysterious.
Tone:
The narrator's tone is inquisitive throughout the story.
Irony:
In the story, the storyteller remained in search of a criminal act(s) of an old man because of his weird appearance and movements, but the old man did not appear guilty of any crime in the end. His so-called fault was that he always wanted to remain in some company due to hating solitude.
Conclusion:
So, The Man of the Crowd is mainly about the storyteller's curiosity for an old man's strangeness. Also, he observes through a windowpane surrounding busy people on the street while sitting in his hotel. Further, he divides them into several classes based on his observation. So, he, eventually, finds that the old man gets disturbed by loneliness, and that is the reason behind his strange movements. Therefore, this tale reflects today's mundane and restless life and its rebel (old man).
That's all about The Man of the Crowd analysis. Thanks for being here. Subscribe my blog for more such updates.