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Hyperbole
Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—A Death-Watch:
Before Tom leaves for the graveyard with Huck to do a ritual with a dead cat, he hears the sounds of a “death-watch” (a type of beetle), foreshadowing the murder the boys will witness that same evening:
And now the tiresome chirping of a cricket that no human ingenuity could locate, began. Next the ghastly ticking of a death-watch in the wall at the bed’s head made Tom shudder—it meant that somebody’s days were numbered.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Storms:
Storms occur in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to communicate that Tom is feeling emotionally burdened. Twain uses imagery to capture this symbolism, specifically to communicate how the intensity of the storm outside matches the storminess inside of Tom.
The first storm occurs in Chapter 16. Tom, Huck, and Joe are still living on Jackson’s Island but feeling ready to go home:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Every little while some giant tree yielded the fight and fell crashing through the younger growth; and the unflagging thunder peals came now in ear-splitting explosive bursts, keen and sharp, and unspeakably appalling. The storm culminated in one matchless effort that seemed likely to tear the island to pieces, burn it up, drown it to the treetops, blow it away, and deafen every creature in it, all at one and the same moment.
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Storms:
Storms occur in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to communicate that Tom is feeling emotionally burdened. Twain uses imagery to capture this symbolism, specifically to communicate how the intensity of the storm outside matches the storminess inside of Tom.
The first storm occurs in Chapter 16. Tom, Huck, and Joe are still living on Jackson’s Island but feeling ready to go home:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Every little while some giant tree yielded the fight and fell crashing through the younger growth; and the unflagging thunder peals came now in ear-splitting explosive bursts, keen and sharp, and unspeakably appalling. The storm culminated in one matchless effort that seemed likely to tear the island to pieces, burn it up, drown it to the treetops, blow it away, and deafen every creature in it, all at one and the same moment.
Related Themes:
