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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
Part 4: Liesel's Lecture
Explanation and Analysis—Shame Like a Stain:
In Part 4: Liesel's Lecture, Hans explains to Liesel on Max's first night that the newcomer will be sleeping in her room, in the second bed. Death uses a simile to describe how Max feels once he is situated in the bed:
“Everything good?”
It was Papa again, talking this time to Max.
The reply floated from his mouth, then molded itself like a stain to the ceiling. Such was his feeling of shame. “Yes. Thank you.” He said it again, when Papa made his way over to his customary position in the chair next to Liesel’s bed. “Thank you.”
Related Themes:
Part 5: The Gambler (A Seven-Sided Die)
Explanation and Analysis—Weather Report:
In Part 5: The Gambler (A Seven-Sided Die), Max asks Liesel to tell him what the weather is like outside. She uses imagery and two similes to describe it:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“The sky is blue today, Max, and there is a big long cloud, and it’s stretched out, like a rope. At the end of it, the sun is like a yellow hole ….”
Max, at that moment, knew that only a child could have given him a weather report like that. On the wall, he painted a long, tightly knotted rope with a dripping yellow sun at the end of it, as if you could dive right into it.
Related Themes:
Part 5: The Whistler and the Shoes
Explanation and Analysis—Toupee Roof Tiles:
In Part 5: The Whistler and the Shoes, Liesel takes Rudy to the mayor's house to steal a book. Death uses a simile and personification to describe the houses on Grande Strasse:
Unlock with LitCharts A+On Grande Strasse, they took in the splendor of the houses. The front doors glowed with polish, and the roof tiles sat like toupees, combed to perfection. The walls and windows were manicured and the chimneys almost breathed out smoke rings.
Related Themes:
