Anjalee Sadwani
English Coburn P. 3.
Figurative language of To Kill A Mockingbird, book one
Figurative language
Chapter 1
Personification: “ May comb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it” (5). “…and the house was still” (15).
Metaphor: “ She was all angles and bones…” (6)
“ Mrs. Dubose was plain hell” (6).
” Dill was a curiosity” (7).
” Mr Radley’s posture was ramrod straight” (12).
Hyperbole: “…the meanest man God ever blew breath into” (12).
Simile: “ Her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard” (6). Personification-“ Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when i first knew it” (pg5) Simile-“…and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frosting of sweat and sweet talcum”(pg5) Metaphor-“ MrsDubose was plain hell”(pg6)
“ Inside the house lived a malevolent Phantom”(pg8)
Hyperbole-“…That’s why his hands were blood stained-if you ate an animal raw you could never wash the blood off”(pg13)
Chapter 2
by Minjung
Simile – ” She looked and smelled like a peppermint drop. ” (p16) ” By the time Mrs. Cat called the drugstore for an order of chocolate malted mice the class was wriggling like a bucketful of catawba worms. ” (p16) Hyperbole – ” A storm of laughter broke loose when it finally occurred to the class that
Miss caroline had whipped me. ” (p22)
Personification – ” Molasses buckets appeared from nowhere, and the ceiling danced with metallic light. “(p19) ” I saw a muscle jump in his skinny jaw. ” (p19)
Onomatopoeia – ” I heard an unfamiliar jingle in Jem’s pockets. ” (p16)
Metaphor – “ She was a pretty little thing.” (p22)
Visual Imagery – “, following Jem’s RedJacket”
Page 16 “ She looked and smelled like a peppermint drop” Simile
Page 17 “ Let’s not let our imaginations run away with us, dear” Personification
Page 19 “ Molasses buckets appeared from nowhere, and the ceiling danced with metallic light” Personification
Page 22 “ If I hear another sound from this room I’ll burn everybody in it.” Hyperbole
Personification: “ she looked and smelled like a pepermint drop.” pg 17. “ the cats had long conversations with each other, they wore cunning little clothers and lived in a warm house beneath a kitchen stove.” pg 17. “ lets not let our imaginations run away with us dear.” pg18.” the cieling danced with light.” pg20. ” i saw a muscle jump in his skinny jaw.” pg20. “ the first grade exploded again.” pg 23.
Hyperbole: “ molases buckets apear from nowhere.” pg20.
Chapter 3
Personification: “ But he’s gone and drowned his dinner in syrup.”(pg 24)
“ I hated Calpurnia steadily until a sudden shriek shattered my resentments”
“ The boy’s condescension flashed to anger” Hyperbole
Chapter 4
Symbolism: “ I could not help recieving the impression that i was being cheated out of something” (33) Hyperbole: “ Don’t you know that you’re not suppose to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!” (33)
Figurative Language Chapter 4
“ Some tinfoil was sticking in a knot-hole just above my eye level, winking at me in the afternoon sun” (pg 33) – Personification “ I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not die I crammed it into my mouth” (pg 33) – Hyperbole “ Don’t you know you’re not supposed to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!” (pg 33) – Hyperbole “ Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill (pg 34) – Metaphor “ Mrs. Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived.” (pg 35) – Hyperbole “ He was as good as his worst performance; his worst performance was gothic” (pg 39) – Simile/Metaphor “ Jem was a born hero” (pg 39) – Metaphor
Chapter 5
Metaphor:
“ Dill was becoming something of a trial anyway, following Jem about.” (41) “… a chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men’s coveralls,…” “…, she had an acid tongue in her head,…” (44)
Simile:
“ If she found a blade of nut grass in her yard it was like the Second Battle of the Marne…” (42) “ You act like you grew ten inches in the night!’ (46)
Hyperbole:
“ She swooped down upon it with a tin tub and subjected she said was so from beneath with a poisonous substance she said it so powerful it’d kill us all if we didn’t stand out of the way.” (42) “ Miss Maudie’s benevolence extended to Jem and Dill, whenever they paused in their pursuits: we reaped the benefits of a talent Miss Maudie had hitherto kept hidden from us. She mad the best cakes in the neighborhood.” (43) “‘ Call a little louder Jack Finch, and they’ll hear you at the post office, I haven’t heard you yet!’” (44)
Chapter 6
Figurative Language
Hyperbole: “ You’ve got us in a box, Jem,” I muttered. (52)
Simile: ” Jem’s white shirt-tail dipped and bobbed like a small ghost dancing away to escape the coming morning” (57).
Chapter 7
Figurative Language
Metaphor- ” Jem waved my words away as if fanning gnats.” (58) ” I tried to climb into Jem’s skin.” (pg 57)
Hyperbole- ” Summer drifts into Autumn.” (pg 59)
” Jem Walked on eggs.” (pg 61)
Chapter 9
Metaphor
“ I should be a rain of sunshine in my father’s lonely life” (81)
Simile
“ One had to behave like a sunbeam” (81)
Hyperbole
“…gave me the sensation of settling slowly to the bottom of the ocean.” (81)
