Analysis

Here is the summary of our analysis of “ iAnna” by Will Self.

The short story has a simple structure. The plot of the text revolves around the case of a patient who suffers from a form of schizophrenia in which she imagines the world is an iPad. 

“iAnna” features three active characters: Dr Shiva Mukti, Dr Zack Busner, and patient Anna Richardson. Because Anna suffers from a form of schizophrenia and the other two characters treat her as an object of scientific study, she is more relevant for the social setting and for the way the two doctors relate to her.

The story takes place in a contemporary setting in London. The story spans less than a day, and takes places in London, UK. The social setting explores aspects related to madness, psychiatry, alienation, and the digital postmodern world.

The narrator uses a combined point of view. It starts by using Dr Mukti’s perspective but quickly changes to Dr Busner’s. Allusions, similes, metaphors, enumerations, rhetorical questions, and symbols turn the language into a tool that helps convey deeper meanings about the story.

Read the full analysis in the next pages!