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Similes
Key Examples in Demon Copperhead
Chapter 23
Explanation and Analysis—Repossession :
While describing the difficult financial predicament of the McCobs, Demon highlights the situational irony of the fact that those who most need money are often barred from finding gainful employment:
Meanwhile the McCobbs were in some serious shit. Their car got repossessed. It was a late-model Dodge Spirit, leased, sky blue, none of that I guess being the point. Mr. McCobb couldn’t get to work anymore, so he lost his job, was the point. You tell me why it makes sense for guys wanting money from you to come and take your car, so you can’t earn another dime. That’s the grown-up version I guess of teachers yelling at you for hating school.
Related Themes:
Chapter 42
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Nurse:
Demon uses an ironic simile that compares Dori to a nurse when she injects fentanyl, an addictive synthetic opioid:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The next surprise won’t ever leave my brain. The kit she took out of her purse. The spoon she used first, to scrape the patch. The lighter she held underneath. The cotton ball, the syringe, pulling the cap off the needle and holding it in her mouth like a nurse giving booster shots. I don’t know what I said but she could tell I was scared, and she was sweet with me, the same voice she used with Jip. She’d been saving this, because the first time you do it with somebody, they say it’s the best you’ll ever feel in your life.
Related Themes:
