Previous
Paradox
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
Part 2, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Toothless Grin:
Pinned under the brake pedal after crashing her Jaguar on the road to Whiskey, Bride looks up and sees the world looking down on her in an ominous way. The narrative uses personification and metaphor to convey the sense of malice that Bride experiences from the surrounding world:
The moon was a toothless grin and even the stars, seen through the tree limb that had fallen like a throttling arm across the windshield frightened her. The piece of sky she could glimpse was a dark carpet of gleaming knives pointed at her and aching to be released. She felt world hurt—an awareness of malign forces changing her from a courageous adventurer into a fugitive.
The moon “grins,” but without teeth—a mocking, rather sinister smile. Bride's entire view of the surrounding world is shot through with a kind of sinister violence, as the tree limb she sees becomes a "throttling arm." Above it, the sky metaphorically takes the form of a "dark carpet of gleaming knives." To add to this, the verbs in the passage—like "throttling," "pointed," and "aching"—are intense and vicious, which is what leads Bride to the "awareness of malign forces changing her from a courageous adventurer into a fugitive." In other words, the landscape seems so hostile that Bride feels altered on a fundamental level, no longer feeling "courageous" but instead feeling like someone who needs to constantly run from danger or harm.
Related Themes:
Part 3
Explanation and Analysis—Aggressively Alive:
In a description of the final time Booker saw his brother Adam, the narrative uses visual imagery and personification:
The last time Booker saw Adam he was skateboarding down the sidewalk in twilight, his yellow T-shirt fluorescent under the Northern Ash trees. It was early September and nothing anywhere had died. Maple leaves behaved as though their green was immortal. Ash trees were still climbing toward a cloudless sky. The sun began turning aggressively alive in the process of setting. Down the sidewalk between hedges and towering trees Adam floated, a spot of gold moving down a shadowy tunnel toward the mouth of a living sun.
This passage begins with stark visual imagery that brings the scene to life, as Adam's "yellow T-shirt" is "fluorescent" in the twilight. The strong imagery in this moment illustrates the extent to which this memory is etched into Booker's memory. Furthermore, the passage uses personification to bring the trees and sunlight to life—maple leaves “behave[]” like their leaves are immortal, ash trees have the agency to "climb[]", and the sun is "aggressively alive." In this memory, then, nature isn't just a backdrop—it's living and thriving. And this, in turn, brings Booker's memory to life for readers, making the loss of his brother all the more palpable and painful.
Related Themes:
