žChoose
one of the following literary terms: motif, personification, and hyperbole to
answer the next question. How was Elie
able to effectively explain what happened to him using this device? Why is figurative language so helpful in
explaining different situations?
Elie was able to effectively use hyperboles in multiple parts of the memoir. For one, some time in chapter 5 near the end, he says he cannot sleep because his foot was on fire. Was it really on fire? . . . Well, probably not, it was just wounded severely. Or the emphasis on his distaste for the bell, saying every time he dreamt of a better world, a bell was absent. A recurring motif would be death. The child died, his friend Akiba Drumer died, his violin-wielding friend died, egad, he even said his god died. Night is another motif that seems to pop in every here and there. Mostly, though, just 'at night' or 'over a single night', so nothing too major. This is helpful for him explaining different situations because it might cause an emotional reaction from the reader, allowing the reader to empathize or sympathize with Elie's current situation. It also helps him explain what cannot be explained in real words.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the ways he explains his hellish world that he was in, then it is clearer on why it is helpful for Elie in explaining what happened using the literary devices he used. The world he was in was that so brutal, a normal human being would not be able to simply comprehend with normal words. His hyperboles like "masters of nature" and "damned souls" explaining the prisoners helps us understand the mental and emotional pain they bore. The personifications usually dealt with death. This shows how prominent death was for Elie and the prisoners. Then you have the motif of night and darkness. This is how Elie drives home is emotion to the readers. It is how Elie shows his loss of faith, the loss of his happiness, the destruction of his world. You can really see it with the "Never shall I forget" portion early on in the book.
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