Previous
Hyperbole
Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Darkness Inside:
Immediately after Horace performs a medical exam on Carl’s corpse, the narrator shifts to focusing on Horace’s inner thoughts. This passage uses metaphor and idiom to reveal how Horace’s experience in the war has shaped his perception of himself and other soldiers like Carl:
And how to explain? What could he say to others? There was no longer any speaking for the hell of it, no opening one’s mouth just to have it open, and if others would read darkness into his silence, well then, darkness was there, wasn’t it? There’d been the darkness of the war in Carl Heine, as there was in Horace himself.
Like many soldiers, Horace is scarred and traumatized from the aftermath of global war. The metaphorical “darkness” that lingers inside him after the war is over is a physical manifestation of the lasting effects of war on his psyche. Even though Horace is examining a corpse, Guterson does not describe physical wounds here. Instead, he points to what the war left behind in both Carl's and Horace's minds, which neither of them could explain “to others.” Horace thinks of this inability to communicate as a symptom of the “darkness” that sets men like himself and Carl apart. He assumes that others will not understand him by default.
The idiom “speaking for the hell of it” is part of how the author shows how much Horace has changed since the war. To do something “for the hell of it” means to act just because one can. Before the war, men like Horace and Carl were able to speak however they wanted, to easily “open their mouths” for any reason. Now, Horace only speaks when necessary. The idiom draws attention to how cut off he feels, as a veteran, from everyone around him.
Related Themes:
