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Similes
Definition of Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself... read full definition
Chapter 2: Johnny Nolan
Explanation and Analysis—Dick's Inner Thoughts:
When Dick is alone, without an interlocutor, and Alger wants to communicate what the narrator is thinking or feeling, he employs soliloquy. For example, after Dick has breakfast with Johnny at the beginning of the novel and observes his friend's laziness, he says to himself:
"That boy [...] ain’t got no ambition. I’ll bet he won’t get five shines to-day. I’m glad I ain’t like him."
Rendered in full sentences and articulating a specific, rational thought, this soliloquy and others like it are not all that realistic—they more closely resemble a speech in a play than they resemble the more haphazard manner in which real people talk to themselves. Dick continues to express himself in this way as the novel goes on: In the last chapter, after Mr. Rockwell gives him a job and he leaves the office, Dick thinks out loud to himself, “I wish Fosdick was as well off as I am.” In both cases, the soliloquy demonstrates something specific about Dick's character: the first passage shows his enterprising nature, while the second emphasizes his generosity. It's not a coincidence that these character traits relate to central themes of the book, such as industry or generosity. Rather, Alger uses the soliloquies to develop those themes and only relates Dick's thoughts when they reinforce the novel's broader concerns.
Part of the novel's overall straightforward style, this method of revealing Dick's inner life prioritizes the communication of an explicit message over the realistic representation of reality. In that sense, the soliloquies reflect the young audience at whom Alger directed his work. These soliloquies differentiate him from American Naturalists of the same era, such as Dreiser and Crane, whose characters often have murky, irrational, even mystical interior lives.
Related Themes:
