Flann O’Brien uses pathetic fallacy and anthropomorphism in two main ways. First, he uses pathetic fallacy in describing landscapes and natural conditions to affect tone and mood, with the natural world mirroring the emotional states of the characters. Second, bicycles are described in a way that attributes human characteristics to them to invoke The Interchange Between Human and Machine.

Pathetic fallacy is persistent in the novel’s descriptions of landscape and setting. From early in the text, the landscape is described as embodying emotions related to the mood of the scene at hand, such as when the narrator notes that, “There is little to tell about the murder. The lowering skies seemed to conspire with us, coming down in a shroud of dreary mist to within a few yards of the wet road where we were waiting” (16, emphasis added). The skies are ominous and malicious, aligning with the characters’ murderous actions.

Similar descriptions of natural landscapes continue, taking on comedic and surreal as well as ominous tones. For example, when the narrator goes on the search for Gilhaney’s stolen bicycle, the Sergeant tells Gilhaney to “put your hands in under [the tree’s] underneath and start feeling promiscuously” and Gilhaney follows this instruction, “inquiring into its private parts with his strong hands” (82). The sexual language represents the landscape as a sexual being and increases the novel’s surreal tone.

There is also a persistent anthropomorphism of bicycles. The narrator’s ride on the Sergeant’s bicycle echoes the sensual anthropomorphism of the trees, as he views the bicycle as a feminine being and experiences a form of intimacy with her. This anthropomorphism reflects the lack of human intimacy in the novel and the blurring between humans and machines.