Post 3: Figurative Language and Literary Elements

In Absurdistan, Shteyngart uses figurative language almost constantly, though he only uses a handful of different kids. One of the most prominent, and frequent examples of figurative language is hyperbole. Misha often describes things to be much more extraordinary then they accurately are. Though I don't believe Misha does this on purpose, it is just how he sees the world. Another example is imagery. It is used a great deal throughout the story, most often to highlight the excess that Misha exemplifies. The most prominent literary element in the novel, by far, has been satire. Shteyngart uses Misha's larger then life personality, and the stereotypical lens through which he views the world to make cometary on a variety of topics spanning from the foreign policy of the Bush Administration to sex. Posters before me have said that the satire of Russian history goes over their head, but I don't think the book was written with the idea that the reader with an excessive knowledge of Russian history in mind. I think almost all of the satire on Russia involves the stereotypes American's have of Cold War Russia. I have enjoyed Shteyngart politically and socially charged satire so far and look forward to it being a major component of the rest of the book!