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White Night And Solitude Essay

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“White Nights” (1848) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and “Solitude” (2007) by Caroline Caddy are both texts with a common theme of solitude which is explored through nuances in the composers’ style. However, despite their shared theme, the messages suggested by the style of each text are different; “White Nights” implies that solitude is perplexing and embarrassing, while “Solitude” implies that solitude is precious and should be appreciated. Both composers’ use of elements of style help shape a reader’s understanding of the text and consequently, the theme.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky uses diction and point of view to shape the reader’s understanding of the theme of solitude and the story’s message. “White Nights” is a short story, written in first person, …show more content…

Words such as “grimy”, “dismal”, “utterly crestfallen” and “unpardonly”, through negative …show more content…

In the short poem, Caddy uses several types of visual imagery such as similes, personification and metaphors to develop the theme of solitude. Caddy’s use of similes in “like a good pair of binoculars or a camera case” compares solitude to a precious and useful item. In a similar way, Caddy compares solitude to a valuable instrument, “like a valuable instrument you have to sign up for”. Both examples support the overall positive message of the poem and consequently the theme. “It’s something they carry with them” is a metaphor which refers to solitude as something tangible, something people who are alone, “explorers night shifts seamen”, carry, therefore developing the theme of solitude. Caddy implies that solitude is always there as support by contrasting it with ‘talk’, this is shown in the personification of talk in “when talk has moved off leaning its arms on someone else’s table” suggesting that ‘talk’ is fickle and easily uninterested. Caddy’s way of exploring the theme in a positive light through positive connotations contrasts that of “White Nights”. The theme of solitude is also developed in the unconventional form of the poem itself. Caddy often adds spaces in between phrases to represent solitude in a visual way. Also dashes in “– explorers night shifts seamen – ” and “ – contract with alone –” act as boundaries, separating parts of

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