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Similes
Key Examples in A Little Life
Part 2: The Postman: Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Stranger to Himself:
Situational irony and portraiture arrive bundled together on Jude’s doorstep in Part 2, Chapter 3. By the time JB grudgingly returns his famed painting to Jude, his friend can barely recognize the subject of the work. His reaction to the portrait is an example of situational ironY:
He no longer felt anything for that person, but not feeling anything for that person had been a conscious act of will, like turning away from someone in the street even though you saw them constantly, and pretending you couldn’t see them day after day until one day, you actually couldn’t—or so you could make yourself believe.
Related Themes:
Part 4: The Axiom of Equality: Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Powerful Powerlessness:
Harold arrives at Greene Street to a sight of vomit and blood in Part 4, Chapter 2. In a stretch of his first-person narration, he recalls this fateful night to Willem in its heartbreaking and violent aftermath. Even more, the law professor puzzles over his son’s complexities and the wildly different sides to his character, which are an example of situational irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+That night, uptown, I had paced in circles, thinking about what I had learned about him, what I had seen, how hard I had fought to keep from howling when I heard him say the things he had—worse than Caleb, worse than what Caleb had said, was hearing that he believed it, that he was so wrong about himself.
Related Themes:
