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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
Key Examples in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Book 1, Chapter 3: The Three Heartbreaks of Belicia Cabral (1955-1962)
Explanation and Analysis—Beli's Beauty:
In Chapter 3, Yunior uses similes and metaphors to describe Beli’s beauty:
She is sixteen and her skin is the darkness before the black, the plum of the day’s last light, her breasts like sunsets trapped beneath her skin, but for all her youth and beauty she has a sour distrusting expression that only dissolves under the weight of immense pleasure.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 7: The Final Voyage
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Bad Leg:
In Chapter 7, Diaz uses a simile to describe Oscar’s reaction upon seeing Ybón again:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Clives tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn’t listen. Then she pulled up in the Pathfinder. She looked thinner. His heart seized like a bad leg and for a moment he thought about letting the whole thing go, about returning to Bosco and getting on with his miserable life, but then she stooped over, as if the whole world was watching, and that settled it.
Related Themes:
