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Pathos
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Book 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Seemed to Snarl:
Rufus feels tense as an Italian adolescent watches him with disdain when he sits in a park with Leona. Baldwin uses visual imagery and personification to show how hostilely the boy reacts to seeing a mixed-race couple spending time together:
Then he raised his eyes and met the eyes of an Italian adolescent. The boy was splashed by the sun falling through the trees. The boy looked at him with hatred; his glance flicked over Leona as though she were a whore; he dropped his eyes slowly and swaggered on—having registered his protest, his backside seemed to snarl, having made his point.
The visual imagery of the light and shadows’ play on the adolescent’s body makes everything seem black and white in this scene. Where the boy is “splashed by the sun,” its brightness overexposes his White complexion, while the shadows color him darker. This abrupt mix of light and darkness sharpens Rufus’s awareness of the boy’s disapproval; it reminds him that other people also think in black and white. It also provides a strong and highly contrasting visual image for the reader.
Rufus is extremely agitated by the boy’s insolent response to himself and Leona, so much so that he sees the boy turning his back as an act of aggression. Baldwin likens the boy’s backside to a creature that seems to “snarl.” Although the boy says nothing and does nothing but glance derisively at Leona and turn away, his body language infuriates Rufus. The refusal to speak allows the boy’s posture and expression to do the talking. He has silently "made his point" painfully clear.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Gray Light:
Vivaldo observes his neighbor Jane’s window from across the street, imagining the dreary atmosphere of her room and what a sexual encounter would be like in there. In the passage, Baldwin uses personification to give the light in Jane’s room a detached, scrutinizing presence of its own:
The light was growing stronger. Soon, alarm clocks would begin to ring and the houses would expel the morning people. Then he thought of the scene which would now be occurring between the boy and the girl in the room. [...] The gray light, coming in through the monk’s-cloth blinds, would, with the malice of the noncommittal, be examining every surface, corner, angle, of the unloved room.
The narrator describes the light here as though it has its own thoughts and intentions, “examining” the room with cold precision. This personification shows how bleak Jane’s existence is in her bare and “unloved room.” The phrase “with the malice of the noncommittal” suggests that the light has a harsh, almost cruel quality. Because it is “indifferent,” the light does not soften the details of the room. Instead, it exposes every flaw with relentless clarity.
Baldwin uses this technique to mirror Vivaldo’s thoughts. While the light “examines” the room, Vivaldo projects his ideas about Jane’s life onto the scene. He imagines her surroundings as reflections of her inner state. The personification of the light—and the houses, which “expel” the “morning people” out into the world—imbue both it and Vivaldo’s observations with an unpleasant hostility. The light doesn’t actively harm, but because it leaves nothing concealed, it makes Jane seem painfully exposed.
Related Themes:
