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Definition of Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations intended to emphasize a point... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements... read full definition
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—The Only Men on Earth:
The prisoners are forced to run miles and miles in the snow in the middle of the night from Buna to Buchenwald. To describe the unthinkable journey, the story uses hyperbole:
The road was endless. To allow oneself to be carried by the mob, to be swept away by blind fate. When the SS were tired, they were replaced. But no one replaced us. Chilled to the bone, our throats parched, famished, out of breath, we pressed on.
We were the masters of nature, the masters of the world. We had transcended everything—death, fatigue, our natural needs. We were stronger than cold and hunger, stronger than the guns and the desire to die, doomed and rootless, nothing but numbers, we were the only men on earth.
Eliezer says that “the road is endless,” using hyperbole to convey reality in the eyes of the prisoners. They are running from the guns behind them, moving forward toward an unknown destination. They have no sense of time, no ability to rest, no knowledge of how far they have gone or how far they have to go. For Eliezer in this moment, the path in front of him is truly endless.
Eliezer also claims that the prisoners and he are “the only men on earth” as they run, carried by forces beyond their comprehension. In light of starvation, exhaustion, and death, the prisoners can achieve the impossible task of running for hours and miles on end. Eliezer disconnects from his body entirely, feeling as if he has “transcended everything.” Here again Eliezer uses hyperbole to express the immense strength and fearlessness that enables him to keep moving his feet, one in front of the other.
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