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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
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—Animal-Related Similes :
The use of simile in Zora Neale Hurston's short story "Sweat" creates vivid images of the protagonist's difficult existence. It also reveals the robust humor with which the occupants of the town confront life's challenges. They compare each other to foods and animals, to comedic effect. While sitting on Joe Clarke's porch, Walter Thomas, a member of the town, remarks that Delia was once “ez pretty ez a speckled pup!” This simile conveys the fact that Delia was once beautiful and is no longer, but also illuminates the shared world that the townspeople occupy—one in which dogs and other animals are used as a common point of reference.
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Similes
Explanation and Analysis—The Paradox of Abuse:
In "Sweat," Sykes and Delia's decaying marriage exemplifies a paradox that Joe Clarke recognizes in abusive relationships. Joe Clarke compares women to sugar cane, and suggests that men wring all the sweetness out of their wives, effectively depleting them—and then resent their wives for not having any sweetness left. In other words, they make their wives miserable and then despise them for being miserable.
Joe Clarke outlines this paradox:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There's plenty men dat takes a wife lak day do a join uh sugar-cane. It's round, juicy an' sweet when dey gets it. But hey squeeze an' grind, squeeze an' grind an' wring tell hey wring every drop uh pleasure dat's in em out... Dey knows whut dey is doin’ while dey is at it, an’ hates theirselves fuh it but they keeps on hangin’ after huh tell she’s empty. Den dey hates huh fuh bein’ a cane-chew an' in de way.
Related Themes:
