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
Key Examples in Bless Me, Ultima
Chapter 2 (Dos)
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Spring:
In this passage, the author uses a simile comparing Lupito to a "coiled spring" to emphasize the suppressed energy that fills his body during his flight from pursuers after killing the sherriff. Antonio describes Lupito’s explosive movements as he struggles with whether to surrender to the mob:
I saw Lupito’s tense body shake. A low, sad mournful cry tore itself from his throat and mixed into the lapping sound of the waters of the river. His head shook slowly, and I guess he must have been thinking and fighting between surrendering or remaining free, and hunted. Then like a coiled spring he jumped up, his pistol aimed straight up. There was a flash of fire and the loud report of the pistol. But he had not fired at Narciso or at any of the men on the bridge!
Related Themes:
Chapter 4 (Cuatro)
Explanation and Analysis—Blood Types:
In this passage, the author uses metaphor and simile to explain the cultural and familial differences between the Luna and Márez families. Ultima describes these inherited traits to Antonio while they gather prickly pears:
Unlock with LitCharts A+It is the blood of the Lunas to be quiet, for only a quiet man can learn the secrets of the earth that are necessary for planting—They are quiet like the moon—And it is the blood of the Márez to be wild, like the ocean from which they take their name, and the spaces of the llano that have become their home.
Related Themes:
Chapter 8 (Ocho)
Explanation and Analysis—Restless, Seeking:
In this passage, the author uses personification and a simile to highlight the restless nature of Antonio’s Márez lineage. Andrew explains to Antonio that his desire to leave the river valley and avoid the quiet life of a farmer stems from their father Gabriel's side of the family:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...] [T]he Márez blood in us that touches us with this urge to wander. Like the restless, seeking sea.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16 (Dieciseis)
Explanation and Analysis—Cold Blood:
When Antonio tries to warn Ultima about what Tenorio intends to do to them, she dismisses his concerns. To explain why, she uses a simile comparing Tenorio to a wolf, and an idiom to describe the cowardliness of his murder of Narciso:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...] [D]o not worry about Tenorio’s threats, he has no manly strength to carry them out. He murdered Narciso because he ambushed him in cold blood, but he will not find me so easy to ambush—He is like an old wolf who drags around the ground where he has made his kill, his conscience will not let him rest.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Wounded Rabbit:
In this passage the author employs a simile comparing Antonio to a rabbit to describe his fear and vulnerability when he encounters the murderous Tenorio. Antonio reacts to Tenorio’s sudden presence and the noise he makes like a prey animal seeing a predator:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I was so startled and frightened that I jumped like a wounded rabbit, but he made no move to catch me.
Related Themes:
Chapter 20 (Veinte)
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Flower:
Ultima believes that interfering with destiny can only have negative consequences, as she explains to Antonio. In this quote the author uses a simile and a metaphor to explain her views on the importance of personal growth without external “meddling," as Antonio explains to his teacher Miss Violet:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ultima says a man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower, with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom, and no one else meddling in it.
Related Themes:
