A Monster Calls Figurative Language

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Novels can remarkably broaden our understanding of the world around us by fostering emotional connections with readers. Through compelling narratives and richly developed characters, authors can empower readers to gain a deeper appreciation for experiences beyond their own. Patrick Ness's post-modern hybrid text, A Monster Calls, serves as a profound example of how novels can challenge readers to increase their understanding of the complexity of human emotions. The plotline follows the emotional journey of Conor, a 13-year-old boy who is struggling to process his mother’s battle with terminal cancer.Throughout this experience, neither he nor the adults in his family can seem to address the inevitability of death, causing Conor to feel increasingly …show more content…

The narrative, A Monster Calls, follows Conor, a 13-year-old boy struggling with his mother's terminal illness. Throughout this experience, both he and the adults around him find it difficult to confront the reality of death, leaving Conor feeling increasingly alienated at home and school. Ness utilizes figurative language, such as in the simile "he was still crying furiously and finding it hard to breathe. He felt like he was splitting open, like his body was twisting apart," to emphasize Conor's anguish he is enduring while going through his grief and hardships alone. This is further highlighted by powerful verbs in similes such as in the description "Conor’s grief felt like a physical thing, gripping him like a clamp, clenching him as tight as a muscle," depicting the tangible nature of Conor's sorrow and the depth of his pain. Therefore, Conor subconsciously searches for a way to navigate his conflicting emotions. His quest leads to the monster, symbolically a healing yew tree, who visits and speaks with …show more content…

The paralysing nature of Conors pain and grief “suffocating him” prompts him to subconsciously seek out a guide to help him acknowledge and process the truth that his mother will pass away, but also that him wanting the pain to end does not make him a bad person. Ness's adept use of the parable motif reveals the power of storytelling when the monster revisits Conor a final time to help him acknowledge the complexity of emotions in "humans are complicated beasts" and explains that "sometimes people need to lie to themselves most of all." Ness has the monster use accumulating emotive language to show readers Conor's great emancipation from the guilt he is struggling to process with the quote "You were merely wishing for the end of pain," the monster said, "it is the most human wish of all," positioning readers to understand how one's self-understanding can prove to be the catalyst for acceptance and endorsement in their life, helping move past grief and sorrow during

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