Literary Devices

I am on page 165 on Silas Marner by George Eliot-there are a multitude of literary devices used throughout the novel that impact the flow and comprehension of the plot. These literary devices enhance the characters and storyline in a unique and creative way. Two of the main literary devices in the novel are the constant use of foreshadowing and flashback. The novel itself is split into two halves each consisting either of a flashback of Silas's past that includes hints and bits of foreshadowing to allude to events that occur in the second half of the book containing the present day information. There is also an evident amount of symbolism throughout the course of the novel. The main symbol in the book is Silas's loom. Literally the loom is the source of Silas's income but on a deeper level the loom is symbolic of his obsession with money and physical deformities. He is bent over due to working so many hours for so many days and has poor eyesight. Additionally, the loom is a foreshadowing of the coming industrialization. Traditionally, work was done manually in these days but as the years pass the story begins to shift into the industrial revolution and is representative of how someone can become so insignificant, which is how Silas often felt. Finally, the most important symbolization of the loom is what it does, the loom is a machine that weaves fabrics which can be symbolic of how Silas weaved/integrated his way into the community with his new daughter and weaved her into the society as well. The narrator described Silas's obsession with money by saying, "...like the weaving and satisfaction of hunger, subsisting quite aloof from the life of belief and love from which he had been cut off." (149). Overall there are many helpful literary devices in the novel but the most prominent and vital were the author’s use of foreshadowing, flashback and symbolism to enhance the characters.