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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
Progress Report 16
Explanation and Analysis—A Thousand Lives:
Charlie tries to put the motivation that drives him into writing, even as he faces the loss of his intelligence. He uses hyperbole in this moment to explain that he values the possibility of contributing to science, even if he can’t remain intelligent himself:
If I can find that out, and if it adds even one jot of information to whatever else has been discovered about mental retardation and the possibility of helping others like myself, I will be satisfied. Whatever happens to me, I will have lived a thousand normal lives by what I might add to others not yet born. That’s enough.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Colors Glow:
This colorful, almost psychedelic passage follows Charlie’s winding thoughts as his enormous intelligence allows him to see the world in a new way. Keyes employs hyperbole and visual imagery to show Charlie’s heightened state of mind:
Unlock with LitCharts A+About my perception: everything is sharp and clear, each sensation heightened and illuminated so that reds and yellows and blues glow. [...] It is impossible to tell what proportion is memory and what exists here and now—so that a strange compound is formed of memory and reality; past and present; response to stimuli stored in my brain centers, and response to stimuli in this room. It’s as if all the things I’ve learned have fused into a crystal universe spinning before me so that I can see all the facets of it reflected in gorgeous bursts of light.
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Explanation and Analysis—Surveying the Land:
Keyes uses hyperbole and visual imagery in this passage to capture Charlie’s awareness that his intelligence stands at a dangerous turning point. Charlie describes feeling that everything around him is holding still as he waits for the coming change to arrive.
Unlock with LitCharts A+Everything around me is waiting. I dream of being alone on the top of a mountain, surveying the land around me, greens and yellows—and the sun directly above, pressing my shadow into a tight ball around my legs. As the sun drops into the afternoon sky, the shadow undrapes itself and stretches out toward the horizon, long and thin, and far behind me. . .
Related Themes:
