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Imagery
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Sailing Tolls:
In this scene from the first chapter of the novel, the author employs visual and auditory imagery and a metaphor to evoke the tranquil atmosphere of the Devon School’s grounds for the reader. As Gene, Finny, and their friends walk across the grass, Gene describes what he sees and hears:
I went along beside him across the enormous playing fields toward the gym. Underfoot the healthy green turf was brushed with dew, and ahead of us we could see a faint green haze hanging above the grass, shot through with the twilight sun [...] over all, cool and matriarchal, the six o’clock bell from the Academy Building cupola, the calmest, most carrying bell toll in the world, civilized, calm, invincible, and final. The toll sailed over the expansive tops of all the elms [...] across the open New Hampshire sky to us coming back from the river.
Everything in this passage is lush, living, and “healthy,” which mirrors how Gene feels in this moment. Knowles brings the scene to life for his reader with dreamy descriptions of "dew-brushed turf" and the "green haze" above the wet grass illuminated by the "twilight sun." It’s an utterly idealized and serene landscape.
The metaphor describing the sounds of the bell the boys hear only adds to this sense of grandeur and perfection. The Devon School feels so utterly safe to Gene that even the bell’s tolling is "cool and matriarchal.” It’s as though it’s summoning the Devon School boys to it like a loving, firm mother. Everything is easy and dignified, its sound "sailing" over the trees with power and authority.
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Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—American Drab:
In Gene’s thoughts about his life and his choices, he often returns to the question of his own privilege as an American and what having an American perspective means. In Chapter 3, he uses a simile and a metaphor to describe how he sees the American perception of the world:
All foreign lands are inaccessible except to servicemen; they are vague, distant, and sealed off as though behind a curtain of plastic. The prevailing color of life in America is a dull, dark green called olive drab. That color is always respectable and always important. Most other colors risk being unpatriotic [...]
Gene’s simile explains that Americans view the rest of the world in a detached and isolated way, "as though behind a curtain of plastic." Other countries seem “vague and distant” compared to their own lives. The effect of their sheltered New England boarding school life makes Gene feel distant from what’s happening abroad. Gene's simile suggests that American perspectives on the rest of the world can cloud or distort people’s understanding.
The metaphor he uses here describes olive drab as the "prevailing color of life" in America. Gene is referring to the color of American military uniforms. The metaphor suggests that the “color of life” in America is so shaped by military values that it becomes uniform-colored. Gene thinks his education is reinforcing a narrow, conformist view that prioritizes American values and experiences over understanding other perspectives.
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Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Cold Yankee Stars:
In Chapter 7 Knowles employs metaphor and personification to convey the subdued atmosphere at the Devon School during winter, which shapes Gene's mood and thoughts as he gazes into the night. The snow and stars assume symbolic importance as Gene thinks about the pressures his world places upon him:
Devon, muffled under the gentle occupation of the snow, was dominated by them; the cold Yankee stars ruled this night. They did not invoke in me thoughts of God, or sailing before the mast, or some great love as crowded night skies at home had done; I thought instead, in the light of those cold points, of the decision facing me.
The metaphor of Devon being "muffled under the gentle occupation of the snow" makes the snow seem like a military force. In World War II hostile occupying forces took over large swaths of the world, and Gene sees the snow as akin to an army asserting dominance over his world at Devon. The author’s use of "occupation" here implies that the snow, although soft, commands the environment. It muffles the usual clamor of the activities of school life, making the narrator feel chilled and exposed to the gaze of the stars.
The personification of the "cold Yankee stars" here—which are strong enough to “dominate” even the snow—emphasizes how alone and vulnerable Gene feels. The stars are "cold" and watchful, as though they have agency and can exercise judgement over Gene. Because he’s at school in New England, the stars also have a “Yankee” quality to their personification. Their influence feels like the influence of Gene’s “Yankee” social world, which restricts him from expressing his feelings and chooses a narrow range of possibilities for his future. The stars’ freezing light also illuminates the practical, stern realities that await Gene after he graduates. These aren’t the romantic, dreamy night skies of his home, and they don’t make him feel closer to God or to any higher purpose. Instead, they make him feel vulnerable and alone as he faces the inevitable future.
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Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Grey and Gurgling:
While the Devon School is idyllic in summer, in the harsh New England winters its rural remoteness make it feel like a prison between autumn and spring. In Chapter 9, as Gene describes this feeling of entrapment and the change in the school’s atmosphere after Leper enlists, he employs imagery, a metaphor, and hyperbole:
And these Saturdays are worst in the late winter when the snow has lost its novelty and its shine, and the school seems to have been reduced to only a network of drains. During the brief thaw in the early afternoon there is a dismal gurgling of dirty water seeping down pipes and along gutters [...] Shrubbery loses its bright snow headgear and stands bare and frail, too undernourished to hide the drains it was intended to hide.
The unpleasant visual imagery of this passage brings home the dreary, decayed winter landscape at the Devon School for the reader. Descriptions of "dismal gurgling of dirty water seeping down pipes and along gutters," along with the "gray snow crust" and "frozen mud," make the school seem like a profoundly barren and unpleasant place.
The metaphor describing the school as "a network of drains" contributes to this passage’s sense of lifelessness and stagnation. Rather than being a lively place of learning, the school has become nothing more than a frozen sewer. It merely channels away waste, making Gene feel “dismal.” The other metaphor of the "bright snow headgear" of the "bare and frail" shrubs further highlights the desolation. The leaves and berries of the plants have disappeared, leaving only skeletal shapes remaining. The hyperbole in this passage exaggerates Gene’s sense of dreariness and discomfort, making each dismal Saturday seem even more unbearable.
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Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Gene's War:
As an adult Gene tries to contextualize his experiences at Devon by framing them through a metaphor that compares his childhood difficulties with World War II. He realizes that his “war” was not with the Axis powers but between Finny and himself:
I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.
Gene describes his time at the Devon School as "active duty," likening his experience there to that of a soldier on the front lines. He says his war was “over before he ever put on a uniform.” Even though he joins the Navy after leaving school, his real “battles” were with Finny and with his own self-loathing and confusion. His true “enemy” was the mixture of jealousy, love, and rivalry that led to Finny’s tragic series of falls. When he says that he "killed [his] enemy there," Gene is referring to the idea that he “killed” his enemy when Finny died. It’s a critical moment of introspection, where the reader sees just how life-altering his friendship and enmity with Finny truly were.
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