House Made of Dawn: Hyperbole 1 key example

Abel's body does not literally crack open. He keeps running, and there is no reason to think that his body will not remain alive for many more races to come. The exaggerated description of Abel's discomfort serves multiple purposes. First, it suggests that Abel is experiencing emotional or spiritual pain as well as bodily pain. For most of the book, Abel has tried to numb his pain with alcohol and violence. He has avoided Francisco and Walatowa until this week, when he has finally come home to be with Francisco while he dies. Now, at last, Abel is allowing his emotional and spiritual pain in. It fills him up so completely that it breaks out of his body. When he "cracks open" but keeps running, he realizes that he is stronger than he ever thought he was.

Second, the idea that his "body cracked open with pain" connects him to Francisco. As he died, Francisco had a vision of himself running so hard that his lungs were about to explode. He pushed past the pain and kept running anyway, toward a shadow running ahead of him. Abel brings Francisco's vision to life by overcoming impossible pain to tap into hidden reserves of strength. He, too, keeps running after the dark figures that run ahead of him. The way the grandfather and grandson mirror one another suggests that their strength comes from their connection with each other and with their people. Together, they follow in the footsteps of others who have their own pain to carry. Abel's body "cracks open" not only with pain, but also to the idea that it is part of something much more expansive than itself. He is just one in a long line of runners racing toward their people's survival and lending one another the strength to keep going.