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Allegory
Definition of Alliteration
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the... read full definition
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Familiar Comforts:
In Chapter 7, at age 14, Christmas returns home to McEachern's house after assaulting a Black girl. Faulkner uses imagery and alliteration to describe what Christmas encounters at home:
The grass was aloud, alive with crickets. Against the dewgray earth and the dark bands of trees fireflies drifted and faded, erratic and random. A mockingbird sang in a tree beside the house. Behind him, in the woods beyond the spring, two whippoorwills whistled. Beyond them, as though beyond some ultimate horizon of summer, a hound howled.
The grass is "aloud" and "alive." This repeated "al" sound evokes the lulling, repetitive sound of the crickets. There are triple "f" sounds in "fireflies drifted and faded" and double "r" sounds in "erratic and random." "Whippoorwills whistled" and "hound howled" are likewise alliterative phrases. All of these double and triple sounds pulse through the passage, creating a sonic experience for the reader that is similar to the sonic experience Christmas is having outside. There is a pleasant familiarity to each repeated sound.
Christmas is returning to the house after a traumatic event that culminated in an outburst of violence. Part of why he is struggling with his behavior is because of the abuse he has endured at McEachern's hand. However, this passage demonstrates that Christmas still finds something soothing about the place where he has grown up. It is the only thing he knows. Furthermore, as he contemplates later in the passage, he appreciates that McEachern is predictable. Like the crickets, birds, and hounds, he knows the rhythm of the man's behavior. In fact, Christmas prefers McEachern's predictable cruelty to Mrs. McEachern's unpredictable kindness.
Related Themes:
