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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
Metaphors
Explanation and Analysis—Arnold’s Mask:
After speaking to Arnold for a few minutes, Connie starts to observe him more closely and realizes that he is not as young or as innocuous as he initially seemed. In the following passage, the narrator, channeling Connie, uses a simile and a metaphor to capture the unsettling mask-like nature of Arnold’s face:
Then he began to smile again. She watched this smile come, awkward as if he were smiling from inside a mask. His whole face was a mask, she thought wildly, tanned down to his throat but then running out as if he had plastered make-up on his face but had forgotten about his throat.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Arnold’s Final Threats:
Near the end of the story, after psychologically tormenting Connie from outside of her house for a significant period of time, Arnold starts to threaten her more directly. He does so in the following passage, using a metaphor in the process:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Arnold Friend said, in a gentle-loud voice that was like a stage voice, “The place where you came from ain’t there any more, and where you had in mind to go is cancelled out. This place you are now—inside your daddy's house—is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time. You know that and always did know it. You hear me?”
Related Themes:
