Examining the effect of literary devices

Today we are going to look at 3 very similar scenarios, with marginal difference in the description of the writers feelings.

Scenario 1:

The silhouette of the man whom I have grown to fear loomed bigger and bigger. For a full minute, it was still. That sixty seconds was the longest in my life. Then suddenly, the silhouette broke into a run. The distance between him and me grew smaller and smaller till it was no longer his silhouette that I was seeing; it was him. The corners of his mouth lifted. I could see his teeth, stained crimson in the light from the hallway that bathed us in its warm glow. Crimson from the blood that had gushed out of my mother’s throat when the man’s teeth made contact with her neck, pierced through her skin, punctured it, and bled her dry. I felt like I am cornered in all directions, with nowhere to run or hide.

The technique used here is clearly a simile, because of the word 'like'.

Literary device questions always test on your ability to truly understand why certain words are used, or why that particular situation is described as such.

How does the simile above bring about the writer's feeling?

Before I give you the answers, I will guide you through the steps to arriving at the answer.

Based on the highlighted sentence, the key words are :

cornered: what does to be 'cornered' mean? _______________

If you are cornered with nowhere to run or hide, how are you supposed to feel?

__________________

Before we check if your answer is correct, you should already cross out common, generic feelings like 'scared', 'afraid' and 'fearful' because you can be scared when for any silly reason; it could be because of a butterfly, or it could be when you hear marble noises from your rooftop at night even though you live on the top floor.

Correct answer: It shows that the writer is feeling hopeless/is in despair.

Scenario 2:

The silhouette of the man whom I have grown to fear loomed bigger and bigger. For a full minute, it was still. That sixty seconds was the longest in my life. Then suddenly, the silhouette broke into a run. The distance between him and me grew smaller and smaller till it was no longer his silhouette that I was seeing; it was him. The corners of his mouth lifted. I could see his teeth, stained crimson in the light from the hallway that bathed us in its warm glow. Crimson from the blood that had gushed out of my mother’s throat when the man’s teeth made contact with her neck, pierced through her skin, punctured it, and bled her dry. I felt that death was staring at me, bidding its time to suck my soul away from my body.

Which two words clearly show that death is described as a human?

___________________________

Answer: 'staring', 'suck'

Why is death described in this way?

Again, before I give you the answer, I will guide you to arrive at the right answer.

To stare at someone means to have eye contact with that person. Therefore, if death has eye contact with you, what do you know? _________________

Therefore, you have the knowledge that your end is near. And if someone bids his time to suck something out of you, what do you know? ____________________

Therefore, death is described that way to show that the writer knows that her end is near (staring at you), but she does not know when exactly(bidding his time). The writer also knows that it will be a painful process (suck my soul away from my body).

Scenario 3

The silhouette of the man whom I have grown to fear loomed bigger and bigger. For a full minute, it was still. That sixty seconds was the longest in my life. Then suddenly, the silhouette broke into a run. The distance between him and me grew smaller and smaller till it was no longer his silhouette that I was seeing; it was him. The corners of his mouth lifted. I could see his teeth, stained crimson in the light from the hallway that bathed us in its warm glow. Crimson from the blood that had gushed out of my mother’s throat when the man’s teeth made contact with her neck, pierced through her skin, punctured it, and bled her dry. I turned and fled down the hallway blindly. I suddenly thought of birds and insects that frantically fly around just before a tornado. Even if they have a certain foreknowledge, what can they do with that knowledge? Suddenly I was that bird or insect fleeing.

What is that 'foreknowledge'?

____________________________

Answer: That something bad will happen.  

What is the impact that the writer wants to make by comparing herself to 'that bird or insect fleeing'?

Again, I shall guide you to arrive at the answer.

This is a classic example of how you need to read the whole paragraph to get the context right.

In the line leading up to the metaphor, the writer questions if the birds and insects can even do anything with the knowledge that something bad will happen.

Therefore, if you are that bird or insect, you ______________________________ but _____________________

By comparing herself to 'that bird or insect fleeing', the writer is trying to say that she knows that something bad will happen, but she is not sure if she can escape it.

Always remember that the writer consciously chooses the words that she uses, which means she is very aware of the aim she is trying to achieve. Therefore, you need to be specific because in English, like in Maths and Science, there is no room for much variation(if any) in your answers. (: