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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Key Examples in House Made of Dawn
Prologue
Explanation and Analysis—House Made of Dawn:
The "house made of dawn" in the novel's title is both an allusion and a metaphor. The prologue further elaborates on the house:
There was a house made of dawn. It was made of pollen and of rain, and the land was very old and everlasting. There were many colors on the hills, and the plain was bright with different-colored clays and sands. Red and blue and spotted horses grazed in the plain, and there was a dark wilderness on the mountains beyond. The land was still and strong. It was beautiful all around.
Related Themes:
7. The Longhair, August 2
Explanation and Analysis—Sprung Trap:
In Chapter 7, right after Abel has killed Juan Reyes Fragua, the perspective shifts to Francisco. The short chapter centers on a simile that has broad implications:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"Abelito." The old man Francisco rode out in his wagon to the fields.[...] Without thinking, knowing only by instinct where he was, the old man looked for the reed. It was there still, but the rise of the river had reached it and made it spring; it leaned out of the water, and the little noose hung from it like a spider's thread.
Related Themes:
