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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
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—X or Y:
The novel begins with Scythe Faraday arriving at Citra's family's home, asking for a knife to use to glean their neighbor. When Faraday arrives, Citra is struggling with her algebra homework. The math forms the basis of a metaphor for Citra's situation:
The scythe arrived late on a cold November afternoon. Citra was at the dining room table, slaving over a particularly difficult algebra problem, shuffling variables, unable to solve for X or Y, when this new and far more pernicious variable entered her life’s equation.
Related Themes:
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Daggers in Her Eyes:
At the Harvest Conclave in Chapter 27, young apprentices swarm Rowan asking about Goddard, while adoring girls drape over Rowan's newly buff figure. Citra eventually finds him but regards him with a piercing look that the narrator describes using a simile as well as alliteration:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Then Citra pushed her way through, and Rowan felt as if he was caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Citra, hi!”
[...] “Looks like you’ve made a lot of friends,” Citra said.
“No, not really,” he said, then realized he’d just insulted them all.
“I mean, we’re all friends, right? We’re in the same boat.”
“Same boat,” repeated Citra with deadpan dullness but daggers in her eyes as sharp as the ones that used to hang in Faraday’s weapons den. “Good to see you too, Rowan.” Then she strode away.
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Chapter 36
Explanation and Analysis—Eagle or Mouse:
In Chapter 36, Goddard urges Rowan to glean a Tonist curate during an attack on one of their cloisters. Rowan has become disillusioned with Goddard's cruel practices and refuses to glean the priest. Goddard responds by proposing a choice to Rowan in the form of a metaphor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“You’re a monster!” [Rowan] shouted. “The worst kind, because you don’t just kill, you turn others into killers like yourself.”
“You just lack perspective. The predator is always a monster to the prey. To the gazelle the lion is a demon. To a mouse, the eagle is evil incarnate.” [Goddard] took a step closer, the curate still held tightly in his grip.
“Will you be the eagle or the mouse, Rowan? Will you soar or will you scurry away? For those are the only two choices today.”
Related Themes:
