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Logos
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
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Spoiled Milk:
In Chapter 5, Equiano details a litany of real examples he has encountered of enslavers' cruelty. He uses a metaphor to argue that slavery is bad not only for enslaved people, but also for enslavers:
For I will not suppose that the dealers in slaves are born worse than other men. No; it is the fatality of this mistaken avarice, that it corrupts the milk of human kindness and turns it into gall.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Spontaneous Verse:
A motif in the book is the sudden interjection of pithy verse into Equiano's narration. In Chapter 11, when Equiano describes how he prevented Captain Baker from lighting a barrel of gunpowder on fire, he uses a verse metaphor to sermonize about the Captain's anger:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I found Him [God] a present help in the time of need, and the Captain’s fury began to subside as the night approached; but I found
That he, who cannot stem his anger’s tide,
Doth a wild horse, without a bridle, ride.
Related Themes:
