The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by Thornton Wilder

The Bridge of San Luis Rey: Similes 2 key examples

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 3: Esteban
Explanation and Analysis—The Brothers' Bond:

Manuel and Esteban, two protagonists in The Bridge of San Luis Rey, are orphaned twins who have developed an extremely close bond by sharing years of hardship and privation. In describing the intensity of their bond, the book uses a simile:

"[...] there existed a need of one another so terrible that it produced miracles as naturally as the charged air of a sultry day produces lightning."

Part 5: Perhaps an Intention
Explanation and Analysis—The Ritual of the Church:

Actress Camilla Perichole loses her young son Jaime in the bridge collapse. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Wilder uses simile and metaphor to express the Perichole's feelings about the funeral service held for victims, which she does not attend:

She thought of the vast ritual of the church, like a chasm into which the beloved falls, and of the storm of the dies irae where the individual is lost among the millions of the dead, features grow dim and traits fade.

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