Choices About Identity And Belonging
Identity, the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others. In Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody, Who Are You?”Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, and Judith Ortiz’s “Abuela Invents the Zero” the narrators all made important choices that helped to determine their identity and belonging. These three texts all use different types of figurative language to show that our identity is developed based on the choices that we make.
In “I'm Nobody, Who Are You?” by Emily Dickinson the author uses rhyming words in order to show the choices she makes to belong in society. The author identifies herself and the reader as being “nobodys”. For example in lines 1-2 the author says, “I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you- Nobody- too?”. The
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The author uses similes to explain her feelings of being worthless that help the reader understand her opinion on identity and belonging. The author says she feels like nothing and that she is worthless. This is shown in the first sentence of paragraph one where it says, “You made me feel like a zero, like a nothing,". This demonstrates identity and belonging because the author is explaining how she feels like her identity is nothing and that she doesn't belong. The author once again uses a simile to show that she is embarrassed of the whole situation she is in. This is in paragraph 14 that says, “I am so embarrassed that even though the woman next to me is shooting daggers at me with her eyes, I just can’t move to go get her.”. This demonstrates identity and belonging because the choice she made is contributing to her embarrassment that she already had from her grandma which is connected to her identity. To conclude, the author in “Abuela Invents The Zero” uses similes to show how the choices she makes, makes her feel worthless and like a
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.
This quote displays a clear image of how people will suffer in help. Since he used imagery there is a better understanding of what he is trying to convey which helps persuade his audience. Since he uses similies, it helps make a better connection of what he is preaching and the reader will comprehend his point. Edward explains, "Your
Using a simile, Krakauer is able to relate what he was feeling to something more familiar so the reader would be able to understand the feeling he is having. Through this writing style, Krakauer is able to engage the reader into the book further and further as the journey goes
Another time where similes and metaphors are used is when Elie is talking to his friend Moishe the Beadle. Wiesel writes “‘They think I’m mad,’he whispered, and tears, like drops of wax, flowed from his eyes.” This comparison gives the situation a very somber tone. Moishe the Beadle is distraught because nobody will believe his story about the Gestapo. Overall the use of similes and metaphors help quickly impact the reader while also helping the reader better understand the
“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.”
Linda uses a simile to emphasize the significance of a motherly figure in her life. After the death of both parents, Linda’s mother’s mistress takes her under her care. However, the mistress becomes sick and passes away, leaving Harriet to be buried in a mournfulness that she can’t escape. “...how earnestly I prayed in my heart that she [the mistress] might live! I loved her; for she has been almost like a mother to me.”
This simile makes Lamott feel more relatable to the reader because this is a feeling that most inexperienced and discouraged writers go through. Saying things like “feel despair and worry settle on my chest like an x-ray apron” only connects the reader to Lamott even more (Lamott 469). Once the reader becomes engaged and forms a connection with what the writer is saying and feeling, continuing to read the essay is easy. At this point the reader wants to know what can be done to shake the feelings of “despair and worry” when it comes to
In the book ‘Clap When You Land’ by Elizabeth Acevedo, Acevedo uses similes and hyperbolic to show the story's overall theme. In the story, we see two girls, Camino, and Yahaira, who live in different parts of the world yet share many similarities to one another ’s lives. Acevedo uses similes and hyperbole to show the recurring themes of each character. Acevedo uses a simile in this quote “I know he won't be leaving me or this sand alone/like a too-skinny cat who knows you have scraps/in one hand, and a smack in the other, I give him a wide berth” (Acevedo, 51), to show that Camino is being stalked by this creep El Cero and how it takes a toll on her mental health, this is seen later in the story when Camino says “I am not a mourning girl.
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.
In Elizabeth Acevedo’s novel, Clap When You Land, Acevedo uses similes and personification to display a strong theme of grief that has severe impacts on individuals. In the novel it says, “Mami still had an air around Papi,/like he was a medicine she knew she needed/even as she cringed at the taste (Acevedo 230-231).” Simile acts as a dominant tool for Acevedo to help highlight the theme of grief. Here, the simile is comparing the theme of grief to a world without Papi when she writes “he was a medicine she knew she needed”.
The use of a simile is utilized when Janie runs off to begin a new chapter in her life. “The morning road air was like a new dress” (Hurston 32). Her new freedom felt like a new beginning to her
Dillard implements imagery all throughout her essay, which gives the reader a clear picture of the events occurring. For instance, she describes her husband “gesturing inside a circle of darkness” as a result of him gradually travelling farther away from her (Dillard). Ultimately, the use of imagery in this case represents the loneliness the narrator begins to feel. The author also utilizes metaphors to get her message across. Dillard compares “grammar and lexicon” to a “decorated sand bucket and a matching shovel” because without the other, they will not be able to fulfill their purpose (Dillard).
In this simile, he compared the black night outside to Zaroff´s facial hairs. For the literary device ¨simile¨, I believe that Connell provides effective examples that give the readers specific details so they can have more of an understanding of what something may look like or compare
Throughout literature the constant theme of identity has been explored, with Northrop Frye even suggesting “the story of the loss and regaining of identity is, I think, the framework for all literature.” For characters, true identity isn’t always apparent, it needs to be searched for. Sometimes the inner struggle for identity stems from ones need for belonging. Whether one finds their sense of identity within friends, family, or in a physical “home”. It’s not always a place that defines identity.
‘Will I survive?’ , ‘Am I the same person?’ , ‘Will there be some person alive who is the same person as me?’ (Parfit, 1971, p.9) these are all questions that must be answered in order to determine ones survival or future responsible actions. Parfit, however, argues that these beliefs are false or mistaken as such.