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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
Experiences in a Concentration Camp
Explanation and Analysis—The Guards' Commands:
When Frankl first introduces shock as the initial stage of the prisoners’ psychological reactions, he includes an important instance of auditory imagery and simile. His admission to the concentration camp in Part I is met with the distinctive and unfamiliar shouts of the guards:
The initial silence was interrupted by shouted commands. We were to hear those rough, shrill tones from then on, over and over again in all the camps. Their sound was almost like the last cry of a victim, and yet there was a difference. It had a rasping hoarseness, as if it came from the throat of a man who had to keep shouting like that, a man who was being murdered again and again.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Comparisons to Animals:
Part I of Man's Search for Meaning includes numerous similes comparing the treatment of prisoners to the treatment of animals. These similes occur often enough to become a significant motif across the book.
Frankl uses one such simile when reflecting on an encounter with a camp guard:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Instead, he playfully picked up a stone and threw it at me. That, to me, seemed the way to attract the attention of a beast [...] a creature with which you have so little in common that you do not even punish it.
Related Themes:
