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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
Chapter 1. The Old Sea Dog at the “Admiral Benbow”
Explanation and Analysis—Scarecrow of a Pirate:
In Chapter 1, the novel uses a metaphor to compare Billy Bones's appearance to Doctor Livesey's:
I followed him in, and I remember observing the contrast the neat, bright doctor, with his powder as white as snow, and his bright, black eyes and pleasant manners, made with the coltish country folk, and above all, with that filthy, heavy, bleared scarecrow of a pirate of ours sitting far gone in rum, with his arms on the table.
Related Themes:
Chapter 5. The Last of the Blind Man
Explanation and Analysis—The Pluck of a Weevil:
In Chapter 5, Jim secretly watches as the blind pirate Pew and a fellow buccaneer fight over Billy Bones's sea chest and the missing treasure map. Frustrated because the map has been stolen, Pew uses a metaphor and declares to the man:
Unlock with LitCharts A+If you had the pluck of a weevil in a biscuit you would catch them still.
Related Themes:
Chapter 13. How My Shore Adventure Began
Explanation and Analysis—Hating the Island:
Chapter 13 opens with the crew's first morning on the island. Jim describes the surrounding landscape using visual imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Grey-coloured woods covered a large part of the surface. This even tint was indeed broken up by streaks of yellow sandbreak in the lower lands, and by many tall trees of the pine family, out-topping the others—some singly, some in clumps; but the general coloring was uniform and sad. The hills ran up clear above the vegetation in spires of naked rock.
Chapter 15. The Man of the Island
Explanation and Analysis—Courage in the Heart:
In the beginning of Chapter 15, Jim sees a strange figure "flitting" in the woods "like a deer" and becomes frightened. However, remembering his pistol, Jim's fear begins to subside. He then uses a metaphor to describe his newfound confidence:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As soon as I remembered I was not defenseless, courage glowed again in my heart; and I set my face resolutely for this man of the island, and walked briskly towards him.
Related Themes:
Chapter 32. The Treasure Hunt—The Voice among the Trees
Explanation and Analysis—Burning with Greed:
In Chapter 32, Jim and the pirates realize they are close to finding Captain Flint's elusive buried treasure. As the pirates approach the spot on the map where the treasure supposedly lies, the novel uses a metaphor to describe the intensity of their desire:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Their eyes burned in their heads; their feet grew speedier and lighter; their whole soul was bound up in that fortune, that whole lifetime of extravagance and pleasure, that lay waiting there for each of them.
Related Themes:
