ipl-logo

Figurative Language In 'Since You And Yusman Ali, Charcoal Seller'?

1038 Words5 Pages

In the poems, ‘Since You’ and ‘Yusman Ali, Charcoal Seller’, written by Dionne Brand and Ian McDonald respectively, both authors are able to effectively elicit from me feelings of sympathy for the characters portrayed in the poems. Through both writers’ use of eloquent figurative language, I am able to develop sympathetic feelings toward the characters presented in both poems. Firstly, Brand’s consistent use of figurative language throughout the poem sets the foundation for which I am able to feel sympathy for the character. Brand opens with, “Since you, I passed some nights in hell” This metaphorical line portrays the character as someone going through an intense form of emotional turmoil; hell is known as a place full of suffering and …show more content…

At the beginning of the poem, McDonald introduces Ali as a man who lived a happy simplistic life, until the day his four sons and wife died. This narrative in itself evokes great sympathy in me for Yusman Ali. However, as the poem develops the author goes on to describe the devastating effects the death of his family had on him, bringing forth greater sympathetic feelings from me. McDonald writes, “… whose heart [Yusman Ali] I think has learned to break a hundred times a day” By including this hyperbole in the opening stanza, the writer introduces the emotional disparity felt by Yusman Ali to the reader, using the adjective “hundred” to emphasize the intensity of Ali’s torturous emotions. This brief introduction to the emotions of Yusman Ali evoked in me sympathy for Yusman Ali. Continuing on in the description of Ali’s current situation, the narrator stresses the loneliness felt by Ali, “Yusman Ali was alone, alone, alone.” McDonald’s repetition of the adjective ‘alone’, emphasizes the extent of the isolation felt by Yusman Ali spurred on by the death of his family; This portrayal of such an immense loneliness causes me to feel sympathetic towards

Show More
Related

  • Tone Of The Scarlet Ibis

    443 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this short story, the narrator also uses symbolism to convey the story’s themes of death, suffering and the fragility of life such as the use of the color red throughout the story to symbolize death and suffering. He describes the “bleeding tree” and the “red nightshade” that grows in the garden, both of which are associated with death. Red is also used to describe the narrator’s brother, who has a “red, peeling sunburn” and who dies with a “red, swollen belly”. In addiBon, the author incorporated allusions from the Bible, Greek mythology, and other literary works to add depth to the story and enhance the reader’s understanding of the characters and themes. For instance, he also uses imagery to create a sensory experience for the reader.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Inhumanity In Night By Elie Wiesel

    1073 Words  | 5 Pages

    It emphasizes the guiltiness and shame that the narrator is feeling now as he knows deep down that he has become heartless and uncompassionate enough to have no more care for family, letting his father die without any notice. It shows how

    Read More

  • Loser By Shaun Bender Analysis

    551 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the passage, the young man’s longing for an understanding of his emotions is made evident, as he is incapable of locating his ‘inner self.’ The young man’s efforts within his community, along with his past experiences with loss, help to demonstrate how actions and background vastly influence one’s ability to generate ‘human connections.’ The young man’s loss of his parents at a young age provides reasoning for his deep feelings of loneliness and self-questioning. In paragraph 37 of the passage, the young man questions, “Where are you?

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    159 Words  | 1 Pages

    To accomplish this goal, the author conveys rhetorical strategies such as diction, pathos, and metaphors. Initially, Sinclair uses words like “ no deliverance” and “ swept aside” to insinuate the feeling of sympathy. Both words share a connotation of being

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone

    571 Words  | 3 Pages

    Readers can relate to the narrator’s situation, as well as the universe. Everyone struggles in life and goes through many obstacles, such as losing a loved one. On page 208, Ishmael loses his beloved uncle. In denial, tears ran down his aunt’s and his face. Many people have gone through the heartbroken experience of losing someone special, like how Ishmael did.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Use Of Ethos Pathos Logos

    446 Words  | 2 Pages

    He describes the anguish and pain of being separated from family members, such as when he is taken away from his mother as a young child. For instance, he writes, "I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night" (Chapter 1). This emotional appeal is particularly effective in eliciting sympathy and anger from readers.

    Read More

  • How Did Poe's Life Influence His Writing

    2469 Words  | 10 Pages

    Author’s lives inspire their writing in many ways. An illustrious writer, Edgar Allan Poe, experienced continuous sufferings throughout his life. The heartaches he faced transferred into his writing. Poe’s works are dark and traumatic, such as “The Pit and the Pendulum.” He uses the unthinkable and shapes short stories out of them.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Up The Country And Dorothea Mackellar's Up The Country

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through poetic techniques and style, these poets position the reader to view the Australian experience from two contrasting perspectives. These two poems both are a conflicting as Dorothea Mackellar talks about a positive experience and Henry Lawson talks about a negative experience within the Australian culture by using various poetic techniques. Although the content of both are varying, both poets have managed to clearly present their perception of what Australia means to

    Read More

  • Jurgis 'Grief In A Separate Peace'

    1404 Words  | 6 Pages

    An icy horror of loneliness seized him; he saw himself standing apart and watching all the world fade away from him – a world of shadows, of fickle dreams. He was like a little child,

    Read More

  • Does Sherman Alexie Use Ethos In What You Pawn I Will Redeem

    912 Words  | 4 Pages

    For example, he does not simply say that he is lonesome. When he mentions loneliness on page 11, he ties it to his identity as a member of the ‘Indian’ community by beginning with, “Lonesome for Indians, …” This insinuates that loneliness is an emotion shared by all Indians. In a sense, it builds an empathetic connection between himself and other members of the community, since they share in the loneliness, and an emotional connection between the audience and the community since loneliness is something everyone faces at some point. Later, on the same page, he contributes more to this idea of community with, “ … but Indians like to belong, so we all pretend to be cousins.” This idea of shared struggle is seen especially in his relationship with the Aleuts.

    Read More

  • Summary Of At Mornington By Gwen Harwood

    1274 Words  | 6 Pages

    The essence of great poetry lies with the author’s ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Most poets use universal themes to connect their audience through emotion and experience, making the written theme relatable. But it is only when combined with the use of carefully placed literary techniques that this connection is enhanced and the work transforms from simple words on paper to an art form. Gwen Harwood uses a number of her poems to connect us with the universal journey from childhood innocence to experience and adulthood. Harwood also weaves the idea of memory into her writing, as a way to trigger emotion through a connection to the past, a connection to feelings that transcend through time.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Li-Young Lee's Poem Eating Alone

    657 Words  | 3 Pages

    Li-Young Lee’s poem “Eating Alone” expresses a son’s loneliness and love for his father that has passed away. He continuously connects the father to all that the speaker does whether it is lifeful or not. Lee does so in a way through imagery, tone, and irony. Li-Young Lee uses imagery in “Eating Alone” through life and death.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Loneliness In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

    863 Words  | 4 Pages

    In enduring these complex emotions, this section was the most remarkable part. One of the first apparent emotions the boy experiences with the death of his father is loneliness to make this section memorable. The boy expresses this sentiment when he stays with his father described as, “When he came back he knelt beside his father and held his cold hand and said his name over and over again,” (McCarthy 281). The definition of loneliness is, “sadness because one has no friends or company.”

    Read More

  • The Heros Journey In The Hobbit And Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

    1106 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since The Road is more about the Boy’s journey than his father’s, the supreme ordeal at the end of the novel is the death of the Man. The death of the Man, who acted as the Boy’s mentor during the many challenges faced by the duo, represents the largest and most devastating challenge faced by the Boy. Not only is this due to the fact that the Boy feels unprepared to continue on without his father, but it is also because the “reward” and “road back” are not immediately apparent to the Boy. Compared to even the most challenging obstacles the Boy faced in the past, the death of his father leaves him both physically and mentally pained and exhausted. However, relief from his situation arrives promptly in the form of the stranger who claims to be a “good guy,” though the Boy’s future remains forever uncertain.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of 'The Kite Runner'

    1392 Words  | 6 Pages

    The writer also makes use of the pronoun ‘I’ throughout the poem. Using a personal pronoun illustrates the fact the text is about self-reference. The person who is narrating the story is Amir. For this reason, this text can be thus regarded as having a narrative literary style.

    Read More

More about Figurative Language In 'Since You And Yusman Ali, Charcoal Seller'?

Open Document