Friday, November 22, 2013

Figurative Language in The Book Thief



I was reading the Book Thief, and about to tell you about parts 2 and 3, when I realized how much figurative language is in this book!  

I mean, the whole prologue talks about the "colors," the whole story is narrated by a personified death, and this author is apparently in love with allusion, metaphor, and apostrophe.




Metonymy

Metonymy is the substituting of the name of something with what it is associated with, a characteristic,  or an attribute.

One case of this is when they call Adolf Hitler "Führer" on pages 105, 110, 115, 116, etc.

Allusion

Allusion is the reference to persons or objects from a cultural traditions.

One example of this is "Jesse Owen", who is alluded to on page 56. 

Metaphor

Metaphors are an implicit comparison, or suggests the two objects are similar.

One example is "Her heart at that point was slippery and hot, and loud, so loud so loud." This was on page 21.

The greatest metaphors in this book are in the prologue, about the "colors".

Apostrophe

Apostrophe is talking to something abstract, or someone/something that's not there.

One example is when Liesel says, "Hello, stars," on page 45. She is, of course, talking to the stars.




These are some hyperboles, used as interjections. These are other literary devices.

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