82 pages 2 hours read

Isaac Asimov

Foundation

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1951

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Literary Devices

Dramatic Dialogue

Asimov’s writing style is simple and direct. He described of his own work that he had “one cardinal rule in all my writing—to be clear. I have given up all thought of writing poetically or symbolically or experimentally, or in any of the other modes that might (if I were good enough) get me a Pulitzer prize. I would write merely clearly and in this way establish a warm relationship between myself and my readers […]” (Asimov, Isaac. “Author’s Note.” Nemesis, Doubleday, 1989.)

The result is that, in Foundation, description is spare and the plot advances mainly through dialogue. Characters are lightly sketched physically, especially the heroes: Hober Mallow, for example, is “large, both in height and bulk” (202). Antagonists receive more attention, by way of suggesting their unique styles of wickedness. A glance at Commdora Licia, for example, shows that “Her face was pale and coldly formed and her black hair was drawn smoothly and tightly back. Her voice was tart […]” (194). That quick description contains a great deal: The reader understands at once that the woman is proud, elegant, severe, and likely dangerous.

Places and things, meanwhile, receive quick treatment.