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Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 23
Explanation and Analysis—Treasure of Knowledge:
In circumstances where truth can make the difference between and life and death, knowledge is treasure. Chapter 23—in which Mary discovers Jem’s innocence—suggests just that. When a visit from her aunt uncovers her father’s guilt, similes call attention to the pricelessness of her discovery:
She was like one who finds a jewel of which he cannot all at once ascertain the value, but who hides his treasure until some quiet hour when he may ponder over the capabilities its possession unfolds. She was like one who discovers the silken clue which guides to some bower of bliss, and secure of the power within his grasp, has to wait for a time before he may thread the labyrinth.
By likening Mary’s new knowledge to “a jewel” and “silken clue,” the similes underscore the startling depth of her affections towards Jem. Jem’s innocence means a chance at loving and living with him, an opportunity that no amount of money can buy. The comparison builds up the moment to dramatic, fantastical proportions, too. However briefly, they lift her from the otherwise drab Manchester backdrop into the setting of classical myths and exotic adventure stories. She is like a sailor who stumbles upon previously undiscovered treasure; she becomes a Theseus-esque heroine who must find her way out of a peril-ridden labyrinth. The simile captures the weight of Mary’s love while placing her at the center of the story.
Related Themes:
Chapter 35
Explanation and Analysis—Crushed With Knowledge:
Chapter 35 brings John Barton to his shame. During his meeting with Mr. Carson, the powerful factory owner breaks down into tears before the murderer. As Mr. Carson cries out to God for comfort, the subsequent simile offers a sense of John Barton’s dawning guilt:
Stunned by the thought, he sank upon the seat, almost crushed with the knowledge of the consequences of his own action; for he had no more imagined to himself the blighted home, and the miserable parents, than does the soldier, who discharges his musket, picture to himself the desolation of the wife, and the pitiful cries of the helpless little ones, who are in an instant to be made widowed and fatherless.
Through the subtle comparison, the novel explores the limits of idealism. It builds a parallel between John Barton’s murder and more conventional acts of valor—violence on the battlefield—only to undercut the sensibilities of both. The simile begins by capturing their shared sense of passionate righteousness. Like a soldier at war, John Barton had conceived of his bloody act as a kind of national or moral duty. But like the maddened soldier, he is ultimately blind to the human toll of his actions. John Barton—for all his speeches and gruff eloquence at union meetings—fails to understand the full scale of suffering that he has inflicted. And as Mr. Carson sheds tears, this scene shows a character wracked by the same guilt as that of a war criminal. Pointing out their resemblance allows the novel to criticize both acts—to reveal the perils of passions left unchecked by compassion or humanity.
Related Themes:
