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More handpicked essays just for you.
Figurative language in a literary work
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Clive Staples Lewis once stated, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, what, you too? I thought I was the only one.” This is an example of tone, as well as all the books in the world have tone in them.”
Tone is the attitude of a writer towards a subject, the writer’s subject can be formal, informal, sarcastic, positive, etc. Tone gives more emotion into a written piece, and is placed into a specific choice of words.
In the story The Pigman by Paul Zindel, the author uses figurative language and descriptive language to develop the tone.
One of The Pigman’s techniques that the author put into the story is figurative language.
“She’s got very interesting green eyes that scan like a nervous radar - that is they
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She used the word big, and ‘had a bit of a beer stomach’ which gives an idea of what Mr. Pignati looks like. A person can picture Mr. Pignati in his old age, and see him with a jutted out stomach since he is described using the phrase, ‘beer stomach’.
“The tile floor was cold and uncomfortable, and the attendant had dripped some water near me.”
When the author adds descriptive words, it gives life to the text and lets someone see what's in the book in their minds. Individuals can visualize and relate to ‘tile floor was cold and uncomfortable’ and practically feel it. That is what descriptive language is supposed to do, and that’s what’s in The Pigman.
The Author uses these examples to give us a way to see descriptive language in short novel.
Descriptive language, and figurative language is applied in The Pigman by Paul Zindel, to generate the tone.
These quotes that have been put in the past paragraphs to give the reader an idea of what figurative and descriptive language is and to show that it affects the reader's perspective on what the characters say, think, and do.
This is how this passage uses figurative language and descriptive language to affect how to reader reads the
10. What form of figurative language does the author use in lines 4 & 5 of page 215 to make his writing more
In this short, but charming story, Amy Tan uses imagery to bring the story to life. With figurative language, the reader is immersed into the Chinese culture and can better relate to the characters. Tan main use of imagery is to better explain each character. Often instead of a simple explanation, Tan uses metaphors, similes, or hyperboles to describe the person, this way they are more relatable and their feelings better understood.
“ The horizon was the color of milk. Cold and fresh. Poured out among the bodies” (Zusak 175). The device is used in the evidence of the quote by using descriptives words that create a mental image. The text gives the reader that opportunity to use their senses when reading the story. “Somehow, between the sadness and loss, Max Vandenburg, who was now a teenager with hard hands, blackened eyes, and a sore tooth, was also a little disappointed” (Zusak 188). This quote demonstrates how the author uses descriptive words to create a mental image which gives the text more of an appeal to the reader's sense such as vision. “She could see his face now, in the tired light. His mouth was open and his skin was the color of eggshells. Whisker coated his jaw and chin, and his ears were hard and flat. He had a small but misshapen nose” (Zusak 201). The quotes allows the reader to visualize what the characters facial features looked like through the use of descriptive words. Imagery helps bring the story to life and to make the text more exciting. The reader's senses can be used to determine the observations that the author is making about its characters. The literary device changes the text by letting the reader interact with the text by using their observation skills. The author is using imagery by creating images that engages the reader to know exactly what's going on in the story which allows them to
Figurative language is when you use words or a phrase that do not have a regular, everyday literal meaning and is used by almost all authors in their writings. Authors use figurative language to make their works more interesting and more dramatic. Examples of figurative language include metaphors, similes, personification and hyperbole. Helena Maria Viramontes uses figurative language all throughout her novel Under the Feet of Jesus. In the opening paragraphs of the novel Viramontes uses imagery to set the scene for her readers, she really makes us feel as if we are riding along in the station wagon with Estrella and her 6 other family members. In this scene she describes to her readers reflects on the hardships that this family, and people
Zindel had a Pigman just like John And Lorraine who helped him through his life and embraced him to be the talented author he really is. He worked first as a technical writer at a chemical company then as a high school chemistry teacher. As he taught he continued to write plays, Marigolds of his plays was soon turned into a television show. A children's book editor from Harper and Row asked Zindel if he wanted to be a writer and he accepted. He soon came out with The Pigman a Story about two teenagers that have an unlikely friendship with an old man. Paul Zindel was born on May 15th 1936 on Staten Island, New York. When John and Lorraine started messing around with Mr.Pignati all of their lives went from faulty to terrible. This happened because neither John nor Lorraine were mature enough to be friends with Mr.Pignati. They were two untrustworthy sophomores that threw parties and played immature pranks. When they finally realized what maturity was it was too late, they had already caused too many hardships in Mr.Pignati's life causing him to have a stroke, and ultimately his death. Which causes John and Lorraine to write an epic about Mr.pignati, so that he will always be remembered as a kind, fun loving, old man. That had helped them out of their troubles and treated them as their parents should have treated them in the first place. He was the only one to ever really care for them and treat them nicely, through piles of gifts and compliments like they have never seen before. Paul Zindel uses the literary elements symbolism and foreshadowing to express the theme, true maturity can only be attained when one forsakes the thoughtlessness of adolescence, while still maintaining a child's sense of joy and wonder.
In the short story,’’Checkouts,’’ the author uses figurative language such as similes, imagery, and hyperboles. In structure, using figurative language allows the reader to understand the story better and make it more creative, along with it becoming interesting. For example, on (page 47), it states, ”Like a Tibetan monk in solitary medication, she calmed to a point of deep,deep happiness.” Next, there is also imagery in the short story. An example of imagery in the story is how the narrator describes when the girl and the bag boy meet for the first time. “She interested him because her hair was red and thick, and in it she had placed a huge orange bow, nearly the size of a small hat” (47). For example, there is also some hyperboles in the
Figurative language is used in a lot of writings to pull you more into the words. Figurative language uses the five senses to place a deep picture in your mind of what is actually happening. Metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, etc. are all figurative devices used in writing. Without using any of these things writing would be straight forward and not so complicated to understand. When figurative language is used it makes the reader really think about what is being said by the author and what point the author is trying to make. Both "The Iroquois Constitution” and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” use figurative language but for different reasons.
Diction plays a critical role in the development of the tone in a story. The type of words the author uses directly leads to the tone of the entire literary work. If ...
Authors use figurative language to express nuanced ideas, those that beggar literal description. Such language provides the author an opportunity to play with his reader’s imagination and sense. A piece of literature that uses figurative language is more intriguing and engaging than a writing that aims only to explain. Ralph Ellison’s use of figurative language in “The Battle Royal” paints a powerful and unique story of oppression and the struggle for self-discovery. His juxtaposition of literal and figural language gave the story a dream like quality, all while creating a profound and vivid image.
Metaphors and Similes are often used in this story, so the reader has a better image of the setting, this is something, and I find Connell did incredibly well, for instance when he refers to the darkness of the night like moist black velvet, the sea was as flat as a plate-glass and it was like trying to see through a blanket.
In the story “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?”, author Tim O’Brien uses vivid imagery, unique characterization, and situational irony to convey the themes in his tale. Since the narrator has a third-person omniscient perspective, they can describe the atmosphere of a scene and look into each character’s psyche, helping them utilize these literary techniques. In the beginning of the story, the narrator uses imagery to set a gloomy and darkened setting, which aids the reader to visualize the backdrop in great detail and understand the emotions of Paul Berlin. This style is also used later when he was “Wading through the paddy, his boots [making] sleepy, sloshing sounds, like a lullaby” (O’Brien 830). By embedding the expressive sensory words,
The book also uses lots of figurative language such as “snake had a snack”(pg. 91) or uses phrases that are idioms like “spin us a yarn”.(pg 8) Gramps may use similes during the ride like saying “sometimes I am as ornery and stubborn as an old donkey”(pg. 7) and uses typical “old people” sayings. These phrases and descriptions really make this story come alive and plays with the heart. Many of the authors words are used for describing the overall nature and weather at Sal's home in Bybanks while she recalls to it multiple times in her story. Even the simple things could be made into a colorful image like “blackberries still shiny and wet from dew”(pg. 35) and many others that make this an award winning
First and most obvious is the extensive use of symbolism. Mr. Pignati's pig collection seems to symbolize his happy life with Conchetta, beautiful and fragile. When the collection was smashed, this symbolized Mr. Pignati’s death and the end of his will to live. The three monkeys in the pet’s department give a reference to John, Lorraine, and Mr. Pignati’s friendship. Lorraine plainly says it herself in chapter eight, “We must have looked just like three monkeys. The Pigman, John, and me—three funny little monkeys.” According to the Shmoop, “The monkeys, at the zoo, of course, are in literal cages. But nearly every character is in a metaphorical cage. John feels trapped by his father's expectation that John will become a businessman like himself; John's father is trapped in his narrow world at the Coffee Exchange; John's mother is trapped by her obsession with cleaning; Lorraine is trapped by her mother's suspicions; Lorraine's mother is trapped in her awful job; Mr. Pignati is trapped in his grief over his wife's death.” (Shmoop Editorial Team) There is a flashback of John’s early years in high school in most of the first chapter; this is where he shows how he has changed. Foreshadowing is used in the games that they play and in the death and circumstances of others in the story. The point of view alternates between John and Lorraine every chapter, this helps to give it a more balanced viewpoint as well as appeal to both genders. There is a good amount of humor in the narrations of John and Lorraine, as they light-heartedly tackle many serious matters. These literary devices and many more are used by Paul Zindel extensively in The
The characterization of someone or something can play an important role in how the reader perceives the actions of characters or the mood of a setting. The words and images a writer uses to describe something can dramatically change a person’s perception. In Joyce Carol Oates’s excerpt from We Were the Mulvaneys, Judd Mulvaney’s reflective nature is demonstrated through imagery and repetition.
A Fable for Tomorrow by Carson How does the Author of the following extracts use language to convey