The Man of the Crowd
by Edgar Allan Poe

The Man of the Crowd: Motifs 1 key example

Definition of Motif

A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Clothing and Class:

Throughout the story, clothing is a motif that highlights the rise of the middle class in the 19th century following the Industrial Revolution. Detailed descriptions of clothing occur throughout the story, but here is one example:

The tribe of clerks were an obvious one and here I discerned two remarkable divisions. There were the junior clerks of flash houses—young gentlemen with tight coats, bright boots, well-oiled hair, and supercilious lips [...] the manner of these persons seemed to me an exact fac-simile of what had been the perfection of bon ton about twelve or eighteen months before. They wore the cast-off graces of gentry;—and this, I believe, involves the best definition of the class.