Use Of Metaphor In Jimmy S. Baca's Coming Into Language

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Jimmy S.Baca use of metaphors, similes, imagery, diction, tone and mood are used in a very effective way in his essay Coming into Language. His use of metaphors and similes really give the reader a visual, helping develop imagery. Baca’s use of imagery paints pictures in the reader’s head but also develops a type of emotion by the use of diction. The word choice used provides the reader with an understanding of where the author is coming from leading us into tone and mood. The author’s tone starts off very low but by the end of the essay you will feel very satisfied. The essay Coming into Language Jimmy S. Baca is filled with figurative devices, it’s almost endless. My favorite metaphor in this essay is in paragraph 22 where he says “Sunbursts exploded from the lead tip of my pencil, words that grafted over me into awareness of who I was…” When reading this I got an image of words flying …show more content…

Just by reading the first paragraph your mind is already full of images. For instance in paragraph one he says “I enjoyed the quiet, away from the screams of shotgunned, knifed, and mangled kids writhing on gurney’s outside of the operating rooms.”reading this you get such a vivid image of kids squirming on the gurney’s, it’s kind of terrifying. By incorporating imagery to the essay Baca is not only creating a movie in the reader's mind, but he is also building a type of emotion with his use of word choice. His play on words is strong throughout the essay. In paragraph 17 he says “Through language I was free. I could respond, escape, indulge; embrace or reject earth or the cosmos.” His use of word choice in these sentences is so strong. He’s implying that although he was locked up in prison he felt free by expressing his opinion through writing. Baca’s word choice really allows the reader to imagine how it would feel to be him. This then develops the tone and mood of the

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