In the novel Inside Out and Back Again, a war between North and South Vietnam takes place. To survive the war, Ha and her family must flee their hometown of Saigon by boat. They move to America, Alabama. The family struggles to fit in and adapt to the American culture, language, food, and tradition. The author Thanhha Lai adds figurative language such as simile and metaphor which allows readers to see Ha’s perspective.
The author uses simile to show Ha’s personality and perspective. A quote from the novel that shows this is on page 5 when Ha says, “I was as red and fat as a baby hippopotamus.” This reveals that Ha lacks confidence. This is important because she remembers all the negative stuff people have said to her. Another quote from the novel is on page 9 when Ha describes, “The green fruit shaped like a lightbulb.” This is important because it gets Ha interested and satisfied in the papaya shaped like a lightbulb. In conclusion, the similes show Ha’s personality and her connection with papayas.
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A quote from the novel is on page 13 when Ha describes her father’s portrait, “smiling, peacock tails at the corners of his eyes.” This reveals Ha’s thoughts on her father who she has barely seen and how happy her father was back then. This is important because Ha will be able to remember her father’s face as she grows up. Another quote from the novel is on page 52 when Ha describes her mother sewing, “the needle a worm laying tiny eggs that sink into brown cloth.” This reveals Ha’s thoughts during the sewing machine process. This is important because it shows that Ha is an observant person and could learn alot from this skill. In conclusion, the metaphors show how observant Ha is to small things and her thoughts on her father’s
Tan wants the audience to take in how Tan portrays an American’s view of Chinese food. A simile is comparing two things to each other creating a better idea of description to the reader. Throughout the essay, Amy Tan uses Imagery and simile to create a vast and detailed idea of the surroundings in her essay. Through using Imagery and simile Tan creates a deeper connection from the reader to her essay.
The most paramount example in the story is when they first took a look at the nursery they were using imagery to describe the African Veldt. It stated,”Now the hidden odorophonics were beginning
In the book Inside out and back again, written by Lai, is a story about Ha and her mother, father, teacher, and classmates. Ha lives in Vietnam in 1975 and eventually moves to Alabama because of war. Her story is just like a refugees story. They both left their country in hope of finding safety. All refugees have struggles they need to overcome.
She employs the use of imagery as she describes a metaphor she heard of as a spring going “through rich veins of minerals” (19) compared to a traveler such as her son. This exemplifies that she expects her son to pick up knowledge and experience while he is on the trip with his father, such as how the spring picked up the beneficial minerals. She uses this colorful description in order for her son to be able to clearly envision his own development and understand what is needed of him to accomplish this. As long as he can envision himself gaining momentum through experience then he can fulfill his mother’s wish of becoming a successful
The Vietnam War spanning over two decades was a complex conflict that was fought through America’s outlook of containing communism in Europe. The multifaceted perspectives of the Vietnam War and unclear military objectives caused confusion for soldiers. As a result, a majority of soldiers felt pushed into a war that they didn’t fully understand, leading to lifelong psychological consequences. Although many believe soldiers are fearless and can tolerate the trauma of war, in The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien illuminates the underlying effects of war on soldiers that aren't immediately apparent to the naked eye, highlighting the physical and emotional struggles within soldiers' daily lives. O’Brien’s use of figurative language immerses readers
Readers, especially those reading historical fiction, always crave to find believable stories and realistic characters. Tim O’Brien gives them this in “The Things They Carried.” Like war, people and their stories are often complex. This novel is a collection stories that include these complex characters and their in depth stories, both of which are essential when telling stories of the Vietnam War. Using techniques common to postmodern writers, literary techniques, and a collection of emotional truths, O’Brien helps readers understand a wide perspective from the war, which ultimately makes the fictional stories he tells more believable.
“It was only when something struck her as truly funny.” (page. 95) the author used simile to describe Mary Anne’s change of laughter after few weeks she’ve been in war place. The imagery on page 100, the author used metaphor to describe Fossie’s felling and to set the mood of lost. “At the girl’s throat was a necklace of human tongues.”
In the short story “Bread and the Land” Allen uses metaphors to give the reader hints as to what the author is trying to convey with the characters such as Blunt, Hatch, or even the mother. The metaphors are used to give the reader more detail on the perspective of Hatch and how his relationship with his grandmother is complex. Allens choice of words such as similes gives the words he uses a greater effect given the context of the situation. The complexity of the relationship between the grandson and grandmother is staggering seeing as she had not been a part of her grandson's life for too long. The grandmother is confronted by her grandson when he exclaims to her that didn’t show up.
Concrete Details/Imagery Gallien starts to notice the settings around him while he is on his way to drop Alex off. “For the first few miles the stampede trail was well graded and led past cabins scattered among weedy stands of spruce and aspen. Beyond the last of the log shacks, however, the road rapidly deteriorated” (Kraukaur 2). This quote creates of visual of the quick change from rural civilization to deep and dense forest.
For example, in the text it says "Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'cause laugh like I've got gold mines diggin' in my own backyard. " This quote shows the speaker is confident and self-assertive with how she shoves it in your face that she doesn't care what you think and instead is haughty. As a result, the use of similes helps the reader understand that the speaker is self-assertive with her ego and confident on how she carries
He used simile because he uses the word like to relate the mosquitos to the tiny, bloodsucking men. Edward Bloor also uses flashbacks as a way to give us insight on what happened before the family moved to Tangerine that have been effective to the plot. For example, (page 167-168) “Dad was saying, “OK, Erik. Pretend that Paul is in the center of an imaginary clock, and that I am standing here at twelve o’clock position, right behind him. Good.
Jason Reynolds uses the thought of a brown microscope peering into an object to portray the thought of someone looking into another’s thoughts. It makes the reader feel how deeply Jasmine is looking into TJ and the rapport relationship between the two characters. Another is when Jason Reynolds uses a metaphor to further explain how Fatima falls on the sidewalk, “Eyes up, which is why Fatima tripped on one of the six big cracks where the sidewalk split-a lightning bolt of separation-one part lifted just enough to be annoying” (66). The author uses a metaphor to further enhance the meaning of Fatima falling. He uses the view of the lightning bolt to explain the separation and “cracks” in Fatima’s life.
First, the author uses literary devices to create foreshadowing to create suspense. An example of this is when the text read, “He seemed all head, with a tiny body that was red and shriveled like an old man's. (1)”. The type of literary device found in this quote is called a simile. A simile is comparing two things using “like” or “as”.
She faces racism, discrimination, loneliness, and, over time, a growing sense of love for her new home. Ha’s life is turned “inside out and back again”. Before Ha had to flee Saigon, she was headstrong and selfish, but she was also a girl who loved her mother and couldn't wait to grow up. She wanted to be able to do something before her older brothers did it, and do it better. But most of all, Ha wanted to fit in, to be liked.
The effect of the figurative language is that the reader can tell how prevalent the hope and fear was, it was as real and as much as the physical money and food. This also creates an emotional effect, as the audience can relate to the hard times that Alexie faced.