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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Key Examples in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Chapter 32: “All That’s My Mother”
Explanation and Analysis—An Ocean:
In one of the book’s most emotionally charged scenes, Deborah and her brother Zakariyya visit the Hopkins lab, where Christoph Lengauer shows them their mother’s cells for the first time. For Deborah, the moment is transformative. The sterile environment of the lab fades as she peers through the microscope and sees something more than biology: she sees her mother’s enduring presence. The metaphor of an “ocean” captures both the scale and the emotional power of what Deborah witnesses:
Finally the cells popped into view for Deborah. And through that microscope, for that moment, all she could see was an ocean of her mother’s cells, stained an ethereal fluorescent green.
Related Themes:
