Literary Device Analysis #3: Personification
Personification is a literary device that applies human or living traits to a non-human or non-living thing. For example, if one said “ the wind whistled through the trees,” they would be using personification as wind can’t actually whistle. Whistling is a human characteristic or action.
One sentence of the text is “flies tapping at a far-off windowpane” (Doerr p. 13, lines 2-3)
The book is set around World War 2. That sentence of the text is describing the sounds Werner wakes to when he’s camped at the Hotel of Bees. It’s a personification because tapping is a human trait. Flies can’t tap at the window. It’s understandable, however, what sound is being implied and the use of this personification
Every human being has things that are not perfect within them. Almost all of these things we can not control. Even with these traits, people have learned to live together in peace and harmony with each other. There are so many different faults that a person can have. This does not mean faults on the outside, those do not matter, but on the inside, rather. One may want to put something off, not help when it is needed, or say ‘I’ll do it later.’ Someone else might be scared, fearful of what is ahead, or timid. Or, any other person might be thinking their way is the only way, and anyone who does it wrong is incorrect. All of these traits are faults of our own human nature, and there is nothing we can do about it. Fear, judgement, and procrastination--all are faults that we can not control as human beings.
“When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice–you may know that your society is doomed”(Rand). This was stated by Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand; the extract relates to the novel William Golding wrote called Lord of the Flies. Golding wrote about a group of schoolboys trapped on an island from a plane crash. The boys had to figure out how to survive without grownups. Trying to survive was difficult because they had to have common sense and order. They lose those traits throughout the book which resulted in selfishness and corrupt behaviors.
Using figurative language helps create imagery and enhances the imagination of the readers. The use of personification allows the author to give human like characteristics to non-living things. An example within the story that displayed intense emotion was included this quote,“This set formula, spoken in a kind of lilt, would awaken loud echoes in Tzili’s soul, and their reverberations spread throughout her body” (Appelfeld, p. 275). By adding in this literary device the readers can foreshadow Tzili’s growth throughout the story and how she realizes who she is as an individual and matures into a strong and independent
Reading literature allows people to imagine, create, and believe certain things that reality or other written works are not capable of. The same way writers create their literature is the same way readers interpret it. Both readers and writers use imagination to do so. Literature opens a world where every thought/thing is brought to life. In literature, any person, place, or thing could possibly mean more than its’ literal meaning. When writers do so, he or she uses a literacy device called symbolism. Symbolism is when the author uses objects to represent a certain idea, an idea that is beyond its’ actual meaning. In Robert Olen Butler’s “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot” and “The Paring Knife” by Michael Oppenheimer, the authors
Golding uses personification to paint a picture of an out of control fire. The fire starts out small and quickly spread from tree to tree, burning a large portion of the mountainside. The “squirrel like” movement of the fire appeals to the reader’s sense of sight because it helps the reader see how swiftly and quickly the fire
Personification is a great way to make the story very lively and exciting. One example of personification, the muttering and growling of the sea breaking on a rocky shore (Connell 19), is a great representation of this device because it adds a mysterious and human-like quality to the sound. That’s what the author was trying to accomplish; a mysterious feeling. Connell effectively used personification because when reading that, it made the sea breaking on the shore seem alive
The traits of a survivor can be different depending on what circumstances they go through. When survivors feel like they are trapped or stuck, they might immediately start to panic. Others may remain calm because they know they can figure a way out. In Lord of the Flies, 1972 Andes flight, and in Castaway can show many different traits. These traits include being mature, wise, and alert.
Personification is ascribing human characteristics to non living things, and help's make a clear picture of what is happening in a moment. William Golding an author of many book, most notably The Lord of the Flies is no stranger to using personification in his books. When describing a fire Golding writes " the smoke increased, shifted, rolled outward" (Golding 44). The word choice in this sentence is an example of personification because, the fire is being made out to be rolling, and a fire can't roll. Another example of personification Golding makes is "Acres of black and yellow smoke rolled steadily to the sea"(Golding 44).
Answer- Golding employs personification to describe how the solar system beat down upon the island. The sun is given the human characteristic of "looking at". Golding compares the way the solar light shines and radiates heat, to that of an "irritated eye." The reader can believe the scorching heat and overwhelming brightness that the sun radiates onto the island, by way of comparing the sun to an "indignant eye," Golding conveys how the menacing rays are regarded negatively by the men.
Le uses descriptive imagery of objects in order to show the internal nature of the characters. The narrator holds a butterfly paperweight next to her ear and “[hears] a soft rustling, like wings brushing against a windowpane. The rustling was a whispered song. It was the butterfly’s way of speaking, and [she] thought [she] understood it” (Le 25) Le captures the narrator’s young, wild imagination by showing an impossible interaction between the narrator and the butterfly paperweight. She evokes an image of wings brushing against a windowpane to prompt readers to imagine the butterfly’s swift fluttering in the paperweight. She compares the paperweight to her “Ba’s heavy head pressed down on the pillow at night, full of thoughts that dragged him into nightmares when all he wanted was a dream as sweet
Perseverance is generally known as an admirable trait that has helped peasants become kings, and the weak transform into stronger images of themselves. It is a value that is often strived for, but in Tom Benecke’s case, it almost brought his death. Tom persevered when working on a small sheet of yellow paper that contained innumerable chicken-scratch figures and words. He hoped to slowly be recognized at his job by tirelessly completing extra tasks and jobs that would ultimately lead to his promotion.
In Shakespeare’s 1606 tragedy, Macbeth, Macbeth attempts to control the future and to bury the past by being willing to get rid of anyone standing in his way to become king, illustrating the idea that Macbeth is willing to do anything to get what he wants. This single-minded determination to achieve his ambitions at any cost becomes increasingly evident as Macbeth's actions grow more ruthless. Upon hearing the witches' minds, Macbeth quickly goes to the temptation of taking his future into his own hands, even if it means resorting to murder. Macbeth's willingness to eliminate anyone is seen as a threat to his aspirations. Macbeth's desires show the consequences of him trying to control the future while burying the past.
Sometimes whats ideal in a situation is not what the truth of the situation and can cause your ideals to be lost. In William Golding’s novel, “Lord of the Flies”, he demonstrates a shift in some of the characters from the thought of idealism to the reality and truth of the world. Ralph is a good example of this shift, he starts out thinking the island will be a fun place and they’ll have fun waiting to be rescued, but soon he realizes that there is going to be more hardship and struggles to keep up the moral and hope of rescue. In the book Ralph wanted to keep everyone safe and get them off the island, but Jack wants to be a leader and messes up his plans, making it so that Ralph is alone in his plan to get rescued.
She does this in the paragraph 6 when she states, “The squirrels had raced up and down the banks, but they were bold, always. A racoon had been that way, with his feet like sharp-nailed hands” In this sentence Rawlings, uses personification when she states that the squirrels raced up and down the bank by giving them human like qualities through racing. When she talks about the racoon with feet like sharp-nailed hands that is both a simile and an oxymoron because she compares the racoons feet to sharp-nailed hands describing how its feet have grotesque, long claws. The feet that looks like hands is an oxymoron because feet and hands are opposite appendages that are being compared. Because of this, the reader gets a feeling or rodent raccoons with unpleasant claws. The next figurative language is in paragraph 5 when Rawlings says, “He lay, absorbing the fine-dropped rain like a young plant.” This simile makes the reader picture the boy appreciating and taking in the rain much like a plant would. The final figurative language, is also in paragraph 6 when Rawlings says, “the sun had sifted through the branches of the wild cherry” this metaphor compares the sun getting its sunlight to the tree branches as a kitchen sifted could gradually sift powdered
Ernest Hemingway based his writing on real life experiences concerning death, relationships, and lies. He then mixed these ideas, along with a familiar setting, to create a masterpiece. Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park Illinois. One of Hemmingway’s first works was Indian Camp published in 1925. In many ways Indian Camp shows the relationship between Hemingway and his father. Hemingway then digs deeper into the past to create the love between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley, in A Farwell To Arms. Hemingway was later able to reflect his disgust of home life when he portrayed himself as the character Krebs in Soldiers Home, the character had problems with lies, women, and at home.