Previous
Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Like Cotton Candy:
This example of simile from Chapter 1 brings books and food together. While struggling to finish the novel that Blaine had recommended to her, Ifemelu likens the book to cotton candy:
She had read many of them, because he recommended them, but they were like cotton candy that so easily evaporated from her tongue’s memory. She closed the novel; it was too hot to concentrate. She ate some melted chocolate, sent Dike a text to call her when he was finished with basketball practice, and fanned herself.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Windows and Ceilings:
In Chapter 1, the narration uses a simile to describe Ifemelu's failed romance with Blaine:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She did not tell him this, because it would hurt him to know she had felt that way for a while, that her relationship with him was like being content in a house but always sitting by the window and looking out.
Related Themes:
Chapter 17
Explanation and Analysis—Grumbling Jewels:
Americanah describes Aunty Uju’s ritual of dissatisfaction with a simile in Chapter 17. During her visits to Warrington, Ifemelu often sits by as her aunt vents her frustrations:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ifemelu stood by the window while Aunty Uju sat at the table drinking orange juice and airing her grievances like jewels. It had become a routine of Ifemelu’s visits: Aunty Uju collected all her dissatisfactions in a silk purse, nursing them, polishing them, and then on the Saturday of Ifemelu’s visit, while Bartholomew was out and Dike upstairs, she would spill them out on the table, and turn each one this way and that, to catch the light.
Related Themes:
Chapter 18
Explanation and Analysis—A New Dress:
Ifemelu can feel herself changing as begins to date Curt—figuratively, at least, as this example of simile from Chapter 18 suggests. After Kimberly’s dashing cousin asks her out, she begins to notice the differences:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She was lighter and leaner; she was Curt’s Girlfriend, a role she slipped into as into a favorite, flattering dress. She laughed more because he laughed so much. His optimism blinded her.
Related Themes:
