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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 7
Explanation and Analysis—The Examination:
As Reuven attends a meal at the Hasidic synagogue with Danny and the community of Hasidim, Reuven feels a strong sense of scrutiny from Danny’s father, Reb Saunders. To illustrate the uncomfortable experience of being heavily and judgementally observed by Reb Saunders, Potok utilizes a hyperbole:
Once I looked up and saw his father staring at me, his eyes black beneath the thick brows. I looked away, feeling as though my skin had been peeled away and my insides photographed.
The image above of Reb Saunders staring at Reuven is highly evocative due to Potok’s figurative language. The phrase “feeling as though my skin had been peeled away and my insides photographed” is hyperbolic, because Reuven’s skin has not literally been peeled away by Saunders’s gaze. However, Reuven’s internal monologue reveals how uncomfortable he feels during the meal. Reuven knows that Reb Saunders judges his non-Hasidic identity and that he is perhaps curious why Danny brought Reuven to a Hasidic service. Although they are both Jewish and worship the same God, Reb Saunders holds a distaste for the non-Hasidic Orthodox branch of Judaism to which Reuven belongs. Reuven appears alien to Reb Saunders, and Potok demonstrates the feeling of being scrutinized through hyperbole.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Drinking Blood:
After news of the Holocaust makes its way to the United States after the end of World War II, Reb Saunders, Danny, and Reuven grapple with the meaning of their Jewish American identity in the wake of such horror. Sitting with the two boys in his study, Reb Saunders recalls the long history of Jewish existence in Europe, using hyperbole to heighten his descriptions of Jewish struggle:
“How the world drinks our blood,” Reb Saunders said. “How the world makes us suffer. It is the will of God. We must accept the will of God.” He was silent for a long moment. Then he raised his eyes and said softly, “Master of the Universe, how do you permit such a thing to happen?” The question hung in the air like a sigh of pain.
Reb Saunders’s comment that “the world drinks our blood” is hyperbolic and non-literal. However, it powerfully illustrates the vulnerability that Jewish populations face in a world that has consistently persecuted and sought to destroy them. The image of the entire world ruthlessly drinking the blood of Jewish people underscores the immense and unimaginable violence which occurred in Europe during World War II. After the war, news of the Holocaust forced American Jews to question, or at least consider, their faith in an all-powerful God. Reb Saunders’s questioning of the “Master of the Universe” brings to light how religion can greatly influence one’s perception of the world. In this passage, Reb Saunders evokes unanswerable questions of faith, morality, and mortality through his use of hyperbole.
Related Themes:
