After Jody slaps Janie, Hurston writes:

"Janie stood where he left her...until something fell off the shelf inside her. Then she went there to see what it was. It was her image of Jody tumbled down and shattered."

The passage is an example of

Select one:
A. metaphorical language
B. allusion
C. parallelism
D. irony

Is this metaphorical language? (I think it is, I saw someone else said allusion but I think it's A.)

I agree. The shelf, the image shattering, etc., are metaphors.

In order to determine the correct answer, let's first clarify what each of the options mean.

A. Metaphorical language: Metaphorical language is the use of figures of speech to represent ideas and concepts in a symbolic way. It involves making a comparison between two unrelated things.

B. Allusion: Allusion is a figure of speech that refers to an event, person, or work of literature in a brief and indirect manner. It assumes the reader's familiarity with the reference being made.

C. Parallelism: Parallelism is a grammatical or structural similarity between two or more sentences, phrases, or clauses. It involves repeating a grammatical element in a sentence to create pattern and rhythm.

D. Irony: Irony is a technique in which words or situations convey a meaning that is opposite to their literal meaning. It involves a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.

Now, looking at the passage you provided, Hurston writes, "It was her image of Jody tumbled down and shattered." In this sentence, Janie's image of Jody falling off a shelf and breaking is not directly comparing two unrelated things or making a reference to an external event, person, or work of literature. Neither is it creating parallel grammatical structures.

Therefore, the correct answer is A. metaphorical language. The metaphorical language is evident in the phrase "her image of Jody tumbled down and shattered." Janie's image of Jody is compared to a physical object (a fragile item) falling and breaking, which suggests that her perception and idealization of Jody have been shattered or destroyed.

The passage you provided is indeed an example of metaphorical language. Metaphorical language involves using figures of speech to describe something in a non-literal way. In this case, Hurston uses the image of Janie's shattered image of Jody to symbolize the breaking of her idealized perception of him. Therefore, the answer is A. metaphorical language.