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Examples Of Similes In Courage By Anne Sexton

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While Anne Sexton´s poem, Courage, was published in 1975, the theme can be compared to Brandon Mull´s book, The Candy Shop War, which was written 32 years later. Both Sexton and Mull talk about having courage and taking risks for others, even if it means putting yourself in danger. Although they both talk about similar themes, Sexton uses similes, metaphors, and personification and Mull uses deep description and imagery. Sexton and Mull both address the theme of having courage and taking risks for others. Sexton gives us similes and metaphors to describe the theme to the reader. In the first stanza of Courage, Sexton writes, " The child's first steps, as awesome as an earthquake." This shows a positive connotation and a pleasant situation …show more content…

Sexton uses similes,metaphors, and personification to address her theme while Mull uses deep description and imagery to address his theme. In stanza one, Sexton gives us a metaphor. “When they called you crybaby or poor or fatty or crazy and made you into an alien, you drank their acid and concealed it.” In stanza two, Sexton gives us a simile. “If your buddy saved you and died himself in so doing, then his courage was not courage, it was love; love as simple as shaving soap.” Finally, in stanza four, Sexton gives us personification. “and at the last moment when death opens the back door you’ll put on your carpet slippers and stride out.” On page 252, Mull gives us an example of imagery and deep description. “A quick glance skyward revealed that the fireball was falling back toward the roof of the barn. She had inadvertently shot it almost straight up. Eric and Kyle dove through the hatch. Summer raced toward the edge of the roof, a Moon rock in her hand. She slapped the candy into her mouth as she jumped. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nate fling himself off the roof and plummet to the ground

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