Alienation

Alienation is the state of feeling unwelcome in the world, or of experiencing the world as inhospitable, empty, or meaningless. Large, modern cities are a common setting in literary works treating the theme of alienation. In “The Legend,” the narrator evokes this theme by presenting the Asian man as alone and lacking in friendship or human contact. The cityscape is described as cold and becoming dark. The crowd that gathers after the man is shot is faceless, and no individuals are described as coming forward to help or to provide human warmth to the suffering man. The man is also unable to communicate to the crowd. When the narrator enters the poem, he, too, seems isolated from the world, watching from a distance and likewise failing to share in human contact.

Anonymity

Anonymity is the quality of being nameless and lacking individuality within a crowd. Whereas alienation is...