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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Orgy of Touch:
In the following example of indirect metaphor from Chapter 1, Francie takes her hard-earned trash-picking money to a store and contemplates what to buy. The experience of having money to spend is euphoric for Francie—a reality the narrator teases out through figurative language:
What a wonderful feeling to pick something up, hold it for a moment, feel its contour, run her hand over its surface and then replace it carefully. Her nickel gave her this privilege. [...] Money was a wonderful thing, she decided. After an orgy of touching things, she made her planned purchase—five cents worth of pink-and-white peppermint wafers.
Related Themes:
Chapter 21
Explanation and Analysis—Dark and Muddy Waters:
In Chapter 21, Francie further unpacks the politics of her tumultuous school environment, contrasting her regular teachers with those who visit occasionally. Through imagery and metaphor, Francie expresses the light these visiting teachers bring into her environment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+These two visiting teachers were the gold and silver sun-splash in the great muddy river of school days, days made up of dreary hours in which Teacher made her pupils sit rigid with their hands folded behind their back while she read a novel hidden in her lap. If all the teachers had been like Miss Bernstone and Mr. Morton, Francie would have known plain what heaven was. But it was just as well. There had to be the dark and muddy waters so that the sun could have something to background its flashing glory.
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Numbers and Stories:
Francie becomes a social outcast early on in her childhood, ostracized for strange behavior. She does not speak or act like the other children; she is overeducated and well-read for her circumstances. The other children do not know what to make of this, or her—and so Francie finds friendship in other places. In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 22, the narrator highlights two such sources of friendship:
Unlock with LitCharts A+From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood.
[...]
She liked numbers and sums. She devised a game in which each number was a family member and the "answer" made a family grouping with a story to it.
Related Themes:
