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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 2
Explanation and Analysis—The Ear:
In the beginning of Chapter 2, Morrison describes the chilling character of the novel's Caribbean setting with incredible detail, using a simile to heighten the tension present amongst the island's sleeping inhabitants:
A house of sleeping humans is both closed and wide open. Like an ear it resists easy penetration but cannot brace for attack.
The simile "like an ear" paints a vivid portrait of the sleeping characters' vulnerability. Although Morrison later writes that "in the Caribbean there is no fear," her words still evoke a mood of unease. The house of sleeping people, and the figure of the ear, can tune out small background noises and maintain a sense of relative equilibrium.
However, neither the house nor the ear can anticipate loud or abrupt intrusions. Thus, like Morrison says, they "cannot brace for attack." The house of people in the Caribbean are perpetually at risk, even in their most peaceful moments of rest. Morrison's simile elevates this characterization and may lead readers to question the setting of the Caribbean itself—and whether the setting will foster a dangerous environment in future chapters of the novel. Ultimately, Morrison's simile is an evocative way to introduce a sense of unease, if not outright surveillance, to Chapter 2 of Tar Baby.
Explanation and Analysis—The Leaf:
In Chapter 2, readers receive an introduction to the character of Jadine, who is the main protagonist of Tar Baby. When readers meet Jadine, she lives a luxurious and successful life, having been recently chosen to grace the cover of Elle Magazine. To heighten the description of Jadine's relative comfort, Morrison uses a simile:
Jadine’s luck continued. The dinner party was memorable and nowhere had anything begun to spoil. Like the arugula leaf, life was green and nicely curved. Nothing was limp. There were no tears or brown spots. The items on her shopping list were always there.
Morrison's comparison of Jadine’s good luck to a fresh arugula leaf heightens the characterization of Jadine’s life in the beginning of the novel. Through Morrison's figurative language, Jadine's life becomes tangible and kinesthetic, taking on the healthy, flexible qualities of the plant. Jadine can afford both necessities and luxuries, and as Morrison writes, "the items on her shopping list were always there." However, Morrison's simile "like the arugula leaf" is additionally clever because every leaf wilts eventually. Morrison's simile appears to provide both a sense of hope and doom, for Jadine's life could wilt in the future.
Indeed, Morrison's narration of Jadine's unfortunate encounter with another Black woman—who spits on the ground at the sight of Jadine—provides nuance to Jadine's seemingly green, "nicely curved" life. Jadine remains comfortable and successful, but she is also a young Black woman living in a world controlled by White people and white systems of power. Thus, Morrison's simile heightens Jadine's sense of comfort while also foreshadowing the struggles and complexities to come.
Related Themes:
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Whips:
After Jadine meets Son and begins to adjust herself to his presence in the house, she notices his physical qualities, which appear to both scare and entice her. To heighten the description of Son's hair and connect his appearance to the novel's broader themes of race relations, Morrison uses a simile:
Here, alone in her bedroom where there were no shadows, only glimmering unrelieved sunlight, his hair looked overpowering—physically overpowering, like bundles of long whips or lashes that could grab her and beat her to jelly. And would.
In the passage above, the simile “like whips” is an incredibly evocative and perhaps unexpected way to describe a character’s hair. At this early point in the novel, Jadine feels a sense of fear towards Son, and his potential to harm her. His dreadlocks—so different from her own hair—frighten her. Whips in particular also have historical connotations to American slavery, used by White masters to harm and kill enslaved populations of Black people. Morrison’s use of the word to depict Son’s hair is likely intentional, providing a complex introduction to his ambiguous character.
Morrison's depiction of Son also complicates Jadine's character. Being a young Black woman in a White and male-dominant world, she undoubtedly has an awareness of racism and racial politics. However, she also projects stereotypes about Black male violence onto Son, despite knowing very little about him. Morrison's simile thus additionally introduces the dynamic of distrust between Son and Jadine, which will continue throughout the novel.
Related Themes:
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—The Herd:
In the beginning of Chapter 7, Son returns to New York City, but he is shocked at how much the city has changed. In his search for the childlike innocence he once held, Son comes up shorthanded: he can locate "no child's vulnerability, no unstuck laughter." To further illustrate Son's disorientation towards a changing New York, Morrison uses a simile:
They cracked into the M2 bus like terrified bison running for their lives, for fear that the school at their backs would grab them and eat them up one more time. It wasn't until he caught the downtown A that he saw what they had done with their childhood. They had wrapped it in dark cloth, sneaked it underground and thrown it all over the trains.
In this passage, the simile about bison heightens the sheer scale of New York City's population. One of the busiest metropolitan areas on Earth, the pace of life in New York seems opposite to the slow and soporific nature of the Isle de Chevaliers—it's almost like a stampede.
However, Morrison specifically characterizes this herd of humans rushing for the bus as an image of lost innocence and youth. As Son watches them, he gets a brief glimpse of childhood, but these children are running away from school almost as if it will "eat them up one more time." It's as if they're actively trying to leave their childish innocence behind, instead scattering into the city and "throw[ing] it all over the trains." Their (perhaps forced) maturity depresses Son, reminding him of the rapidly advancing nature of time.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Jewels:
In Chapter 7, Son leaves L'Arbe de la Croix and arrives in New York City. The change in environment stuns him, as does the nature of New York itself. To heighten the depictions of a newly-introduced setting in Tar Baby, Morrison uses a simile:
Like blazing jewels, the subway cars burst from the tunnels to the platforms shining with the recognizable artifacts of childhood: fantasy, magic, ego, energy, humor, and paint. They had taken it all underground.
The simile “like blazing jewels” provides an incredibly descriptive and evocative portrait of the New York City subway system. Son appears to find the scene hauntingly beautiful, the diversity of cultures and energies existing not just above ground on the street, but underneath it as well. The multigenerational portrait of New York entices Son, who longs for an environment beyond the Isle and its literal representation of colonialism.
Additionally, the image of subway cars "like blazing jewels" paints a bittersweet portrait of innocence and youth. The cars represent "the recognizable artifacts of childhood"; a childhood that Son may have outgrown but can still perceive through an older and more mature lens. Overall, Morrison's use of simile in this passage poetically heightens the image of New York City through Son's point of view.
Related Themes:
