Melanie walked out onto the stage, and her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator. She crept slowly over to the podium and bent the microphone toward her mouth, like the straw in her pink lemonade. She gathered up all of her courage and began to speak, her voice an impostor as it boomed through the microphone. She flinched at its unfamiliarity and scanned the room for her mother's face.

Question

Melanie walked out onto the stage, and her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator. She crept slowly over to the podium and bent the microphone toward her mouth, like the straw in her pink lemonade. She gathered up all of her courage and began to speak, her voice an impostor as it boomed through the microphone. She flinched at its unfamiliarity and scanned the room for her mother's face.

In three to five sentences, identify two examples of figurative language from the passage above and explain what each example of figurative language means.

Answer 1

1) The line "her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator" is an example of a simile. This figurative language compares the feeling in Melanie's stomach to the sensation of an elevator rapidly descending. It emphasizes the sudden and intense feeling of nervousness or fear Melanie experiences when she walks onto the stage.

2) The line "she bent the microphone toward her mouth, like the straw in her pink lemonade" is an example of a simile. This comparison suggests that Melanie's action of positioning the microphone closer to her mouth is similar to how she would position a straw in her drink. It highlights her delicate and cautious movements, as well as the anxious and careful demeanor she adopts before delivering her speech.