For each of the passages printed below, identify the most dominant literary device. Provide an explanation of how that device functions in the sentence. (For example, specify what two things are being compared in a metaphor, or what kind of imagery is being developed.) You may only identify a device once. To complete this task, copy and paste the passages below into a separate document and submit to the dropbox here opens in new window: 1. Wilson 2. A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood by the back door, breaking his arm in two places. Till that moment he had been happily listening to his iPod. 2) Only the champion daisy trees were serene. After all, they were part of a rainforest already two thousand years old and scheduled for eternity, so they ignored the men and continued to rock the diamondbacks that slept in their arms. It took the river to persuade them that indeed the world was altered. (Toni Morrison, Tar Baby.)
3) People moved slowly then. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County.
(Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.)
4) . “A single flow’r he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet-
One perfect rose.”
- “One Perfect Rose,” Dorothy Parker
5) At night, he would watch a “single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby)
6) 7. “A wealthy peasant marches
Weakly across a blazing glacier
As the stars in the cloudy sky
Glisten grimly.”
7) As the cave's roof collapsed, he was Jonah, swallowed up, and only his frantic scrabbling behind a wall of rock indicated that there was anyone still alive.
8) “Mary sat musing on the lamp-flame at the table
Waiting for Warren. When she heard his step. . .”
Robert Frost, (“The Death of the Hired Man”)
9) 10. “Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table;“
- T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
1) Irony: The dominant literary device in this passage is irony. The woman's intention to save her husband from electrocution by hitting him with a plank of wood ends in unintentional harm as she breaks his arm. This ironic outcome creates a sense of unexpected humor and surprise in the passage.
2) Imagery: The dominant literary device in this passage is imagery. The imagery of the daisy trees being part of a rainforest and rocking diamondbacks creates a vivid visual picture for the reader. The detailed description of the scene through imagery helps to bring the setting to life and immerse the reader in the story.
3) Diction: The dominant literary device in this passage is diction. The choice of words such as "slowly," "no hurry," "nothing to buy," and "nowhere to go," sets a tone of leisurely, stagnant, and limited existence in Maycomb County. The specific diction used by the author helps to convey the overall atmosphere and pace of life in the town.
4) Symbolism: The dominant literary device in this passage is symbolism. The "perfect rose" in the poem symbolizes love, beauty, and perfection. The rose serves as a metaphorical representation of the speaker's feelings, as well as a symbol of romantic love and idealized relationships.
5) Symbolism: The dominant literary device in this passage is symbolism. The "single green light" symbolizes hope, yearning, and unattainable dreams in The Great Gatsby. The light serves as a recurring symbol throughout the novel, representing Gatsby's desire for a better future and his longing for Daisy.
6) Imagery: The dominant literary device in this passage is imagery. The imagery of the wealthy peasant marching weakly across a blazing glacier and the stars glistening in the sky creates a striking visual and sensory experience for the reader. The vivid imagery helps to evoke a sense of harshness, contrast, and beauty in the scene.
7) Metaphor: The dominant literary device in this passage is metaphor. The comparison between the character and Jonah, who was swallowed up in the Biblical story, creates a powerful metaphor for the dire situation he is in. The collapsing cave serves as a metaphorical whale engulfing Jonah, highlighting the character's peril.
8) Imagery: The dominant literary device in this passage is imagery. The imagery of Mary sitting by the lamp-flame, waiting for Warren, helps to set the scene and establish a mood of anticipation and reflection. The visual and sensory details described through imagery deepen the reader's understanding of the characters and their emotions.
9) Simile: The dominant literary device in this passage is a simile. The comparison of the evening spread out against the sky to a patient etherised upon a table creates a striking simile. This simile conveys a sense of stillness, passivity, and vulnerability in the evening sky through a vivid and unexpected comparison.