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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
Section 1
Explanation and Analysis—Stories:
The following poem, taken from the beginning of Section 1, includes an example of hyperbole:
I will tell you something about stories
[he said]
They aren’t just entertainment.
Don’t be fooled.
They are all we have, you see,
all we have to fight off
illness and death.
You don’t have anything if you don’t have the stories.
Related Themes:
Section 2
Explanation and Analysis—Far Worse:
In Section 2, Tayo's grandmother calls on Ku'oosh, a medicine man, to treat Tayo. After Ku'oosh arrives, Tayo soon uncovers a disconnect between them. He cannot speak openly with Ku'oosh about what plagues him because he doubts Ku'oosh's ability to comprehend the scale of the atrocity carried out by the American military, or indeed the extent of Tayo's own transgression. In the following passage, Silko utilizes hyperbole to characterize Tayo's feelings about his own wartime actions:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Tayo] didn’t know how to explain what had happened. He did not know how to tell [Ku'oosh] that he had not killed any enemy or that he did not think that he had. But that he had done things far worse, and the effects were everywhere in the cloudless sky, on the dry brown hills, shrinking skin and hide taut over sharp bone.
Related Themes:
