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Setting
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
Two
Explanation and Analysis—An Ancient Curse:
Barnes uses simile to dramatize Tony's shock and guilt when he confronts the past in its written form. The most striking example comes when Tony rereads the angry letter he sent to Adrian and Veronica in his youth. Seeing his own cruel words decades later, Tony reflects:
Imagine the strength of the bite when I reread my words. They seemed like some ancient curse I had forgotten even uttering.
This simile compares his letter to a curse, underscoring the potency and malice of what he had once dismissed as a petty outburst.
The comparison conveys how words, once released, can take on an almost supernatural power. Tony feels as though his letter carried the force of a curse, not only wounding Adrian and Veronica at the time but also shaping the tragedy that unfolded afterward.
By likening his words to a curse, Barnes captures the way guilt grows heavier with time. Tony once rationalized his words as youthful anger, but he is now struck by them as vicious and fateful. This simile also highlights the novel's larger theme that the past is never safely buried. Like a curse lying dormant, Tony's actions resurface years later, binding him to an inescapable sense of responsibility.
Related Themes:
