Figurative Language in Today's Novels

Figurative Language in Today's Novels

  • Submitted By: diani1
  • Date Submitted: 12/04/2008 10:00 PM
  • Category: History Other
  • Words: 417
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 900

Figurative language is widely used in many novels today. Figurative language helps readers understand the story. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee uses 3 different devices. They were metaphor, similes, and personification.

Metaphors are one of the literary devices Lee used to make her novel easier to read and visualize her story. For example “Her face was the color of a dirty pillowcase” (Lee114). In this metaphor, Lee explains how this girl looks. It seems like she been threw a lot. As you imagine how her face looked like a pillowcase that’s been dragged threw dirt. Another example of a metaphor in this novel is “I tried to climb into Jem's skin and walk around in it” (Lee 57). This person can’t be in Jem’s skin for real. They want to see how it feels to be in Jem’s body and live his life from his point of view.

Another literary device use on To Kill a Mocking Bird is similes. They were used to also show visual images for the reader. Allowing readers have an image while they read actually enjoy the novel. For instance “She looked and smelled like a peppermint drop” (Lee 16) Lee described this woman to be a piece of candy and she meant this woman was sweet and beautiful. Another quote is “Aunt Alexandra was standing stiff as a stork” (Lee 165). This amplifies that Aunt Alexandra was standing so still that she had no movement like a stork.

The third literary device used in To Kill a Mocking Bird is personification. Personification is giving a non-living thing characteristics of something that is living. “The town fire siren wailed up the scale to treble pitch and remained there, screaming” (Lee 69). This implies that he fire siren is very loud and alerts everyone. Lee said it was screaming like a human would do such as a child. Another quote used by Lee is “Door slammed engines coughed, and they were gone” (Lee206). Engines were used with human characteristics. Lee was trying to Say that the engine was starting and...

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