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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 There Will Come Soft Rains
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—“Blown Gray Leaves”:
Similes in “There Will Come Soft Rains” abound, alternately blurring and sharpening the distinctions between the natural and technological realms. After the McClellans’ dog dies, the robotic cleaning mice scurry out from their nooks to clean the remains:
Delicately sensing decay at last, the regiments of mice hummed out as softly as blown gray leaves in an electrical wind.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Elephants and Snakes:
The story features an instance of simile, metaphor, and personification in describing the house’s combat with the fire. As the fire sweeps across the kitchen, the ranks of vacuum mice scuttle out to contain the flames and the attic trapdoors deploy a “gushing green chemical”:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The fire backed off, as even an elephant must at the sight of a dead snake. Now there were twenty snakes whipping over the floor, killing the fire with a clear cold venom of green froth.
Related Themes:
