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Definition of Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations intended to emphasize a point... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements... read full definition
Book 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Streams and Oceans:
Feeling incredibly awkward and out of place, Rufus leaves Jane and Vivaldo sitting at a table at the bar to go to the bathroom. The narrator describes how the act of urinating makes Rufus feel unpleasantly connected to all the garbage in the world, using hyperbole and a metaphor:
It smelled of thousands of travelers, oceans of [pee], tons of bile and vomit and [excrement]. He added his stream to the ocean, holding that most despised part of himself loosely between two fingers of one hand.
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Book 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Beauty and Elegance:
As Cass and Vivaldo silently ride an elevator on their way to Rufus’s funeral, the author uses hyperbole to show Vivaldo’s dire state:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She was struck by his panic and sorrow; without a word, she put on her dark coat and put her hand in his; and they rode down in the elevator in silence. She watched him in the elevator mirror. Sorrow became him. He was reduced to his beauty and elegance—as bones, after a long illness, come forward through the flesh.
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Book 2, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Cathedrals:
As Eric and Yves fall deeper in love, Baldwin uses hyperbole and a simile to express the barrage of feelings Eric experiences. Lying in bed with Yves, Eric thinks:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Then, in the violent moonlight, naked, he slowly pulled the covers away from Yves. They watched each other and he stared at Yves’ body for a long time before Yves lifted up his arms, with that same sad, cryptic smile, and kissed him. Eric felt beneath his fingers Yves’ slowly stirring, stiffening sex. This sex dominated the long landscape of his life as the cathedral towers dominated the plains.
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Book 2, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Because You're Black:
Ida loses her composure while speaking to Cass about how prejudiced White people are, exposing her frustration with a system she believes has deceived and confined Black people for too long. She uses hyperbole and a metaphor to drive her point home:
Unlock with LitCharts A+They keep you here because you’re black [...] while they go around jerking themselves off with all that jazz about the land of the free and the home of the brave. And they want you to jerk yourself off with that same music, too, only, keep your distance. Some days, honey, I wish I could turn myself into one big fist and grind this miserable country to powder. Some days, I don’t believe it has a right to exist.
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