NGSSS

Figurative Language LA.7.2.!.7: locate and analyze an author's use ... of figurative language in a variety of texts

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In th is lesson, you will learn about figurative language, which is the use of words or phrases to describe one thing in terms of another. Figurative language makes interesting comparisons and creates images in the reader's mind. It adds meaning to a story or poem.

Figurative language always involves some sort of imaginative comparison between seemingly unlike things. A simile uses the signal words like or as to compare two unrelated things: My heart is like a singing bird. A metaphor makes comparisons by saying one thing is another: My heart is a singing bird.

Personification gives human qualities to objects or animals: The wind wrapped its arms around the trees. In hyperbole, the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect: That stretch limousine is as long as an ocean liner!

Writers use symbolism to suggest an idea that is not directly stated. A symbol is something concrete (an object, setting, event, animal, or person) that represents something more than itself. A symbol must be something tangible or visible, while the idea it symbolizes must be something abstract or universal. For example, a dark forest could be used as a symbol of being lost and confused in life. A red rose could be used as a symbol for love.

Look at the fOllowing table to review figurative language.

Type Description simile uses like or as to compare things metaphor compares by saying one thing is another personification gives human qualities to objects or animals hyperbole exaggerates the truth for emphasis or humorous effect symbolism uses something concrete to represent something

abstract or universal

NGSSS LA.7.2.1.7

Read this passage about a seventh grade girl named Akeela. Look for figurative language in the story to answer the question below.

1 I want to stay home alone after school, but Mom worries. She still wants both Vanessa and me enrolled in the after-school program. However, I've been taking on more responsibilities lately, and Mom's starting to put more trust in me.

1 So last night , I asked Mom. She responded that she liked knowing that Vanessa had her big sister at after-school care. I li stened and then told Mom that Vanessa always plays with her own fri ends anyway and that my staying home could save us a lot of money. Mom said she'd consider it, but in my experience, that usually means no.

3 But Mom surprised me. Today when I got home, there was a key silting next to my dinner plate. Mom sa id , "Congratulations, Akeela. You're in charge when I'm not here. Are you ready for that responsibility?" In answer, I stood up, pUlthe key on the chain around my neck, and shook Mom's hand like a responsible young woman.

What concrete object is a symbol in the story?

~ A symbol is something concrete th at represents something abstract or universal. What objects mentioned in the story might se rve as a sy mbol?

~ What does Akeela want in the story? Is her goal something concrete that she can touch , or is it something abstract, such as a change in her life? Akeela wants a change in her life; she wants to be able to stay home after school.

~ What concrete object in the sto ry seems connected to A keel a's wish to stay home after school? What object appears when Akeela finally achieves her wish?

ANSWER: the key

What does the key symbolize for Akeela?

NGSSS LA.7.2.1.7

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Think About It Does the passage anywhere compare two things?

Hint Are there signal words that help identify each kind of figurative language?

CORRECT ANSWER

Read the passage. Use each Think About It to guide your reading. Then answer the question. Use the Hint to help you.

The Orange Grove

1 My grandfather and I stood in the parking lot of a huge shopping mall near Orlando. There were parked cars everywhere.

2 "You know, Shaun," sa id Grandpa, "when I was your age, there was nothing here except orange trees. This used to be one of the largest orange groves in the sta te. Your uncle Duane and I used to ride by on our bikes. The smell of the orange blossoms when they were blooming was something else. That orange grove was like the ocean ," he added with a sigh. "It stretched on forever, and I thought it would always be here."

3 Then Grandpa looked off into the distance, as if he were seeing those orange trees and not all the cars in the parking lot.

In this passage, the author uses A hyperbole to describe how large the parking lot is. B a simile that states the orange grove is like the ocean.

C a metaphor that states the orange grove is an ocean. D personifi cation to give the orange blossoms human characteristics.

Answer choice B is correcl.

SUPPORTING DETAILS Grandpa uses a sim ile when talking about the orange grove. He uses the Signal word /iI,e to compare the grove and the ocean. Then he explains how the two things are similar: They both stretched on forever and both seemed as if they would always exist.

INCORRECT ANSWERS A is not correc t because hyperbole exaggerates the truth for emphaSis or comic effect. The author merely stales the lot was large and filled with cars, both of which are true and not exaggerated.

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C is not correct because a metaphor states that one thing is another th ing, not mere ly li ke it.

D is not correct because the orange blossoms are not given human characteristi cs.

NGSSS LA.7.2.l.7

Think About It

Can life literally sell things? What kind of figurative language is being used here to describe what life has to offer?

Have you ever heard a fire sing? Which type of figurative language gives human characteristics to nonhuman th ings?

To what does the author compare music? Which type of figurative language states that one thing is like another thing?

NGSSS LA .7.2 .1.7

---.---Read the poem by Sara Teasdale. Use each Think About It to guide your reading.

Barter Life has loveliness to sell, All beautiful and splendid things, Blue waves whitened on a cliff, Soaring fire that sways and sings,

5 And children's faces looking up Holding wonder in a cup.

Life has loveliness to se ll , Music like a curve of gold, Scent of pine trees in the rain ,

10 Eyes that love yo u, arms that hold, And for your spiri t's s till delight, Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveli ness, Buy it and never count the cost;

15 For one white singing hour of peace Count many a year of strife well lost, And fo r a breath of ecstasy Give all you have been, or could be.

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Hints

To what is the author comparing life in the poem?

How does the author describe fire in this line?

What kind of comparison is being made in this line?

With your partner, share and discuss your answers alld supporting details.

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Use the Hints to answer the questions below. Circle the letter for each correct answer. Provide supporting details from the passage.

1 Read these lines [rom the poem.

Life has loveliness to se ll, All beautiful and splendid things,

Which literary device does the author use in these lines7

A symbol, using lovel iness as a sy mbol [or things

B simile, comparing life to someone who buys things C hyperbole, exaggerating the importance o[ selling things

D personification, comparing lire to someone who buys and sells things

Supporting Details: _________________ _

2 Read this line [rom the poem.

Soaring fire that sways and sings ,

Which li terary device does the author use in this line? A metaphor, comparing fire to fl ying

B personification, giving fire human qualities

C sy mbol, hinting that fire is harm ful

D hyperbole, exaggerat i ng the way some people sing

Supporting Details: _________________ _

3 Read th is line [rom the poem.

Music like a curve of go ld ,

Wh ich literary device does the author use in this line? A simile

B metaphor C hyperbole

D personification

Supporting Detail s: _ _ ________________ _

NGSSS LA.7.2 .1.7

Read "A Story with a Twist" before answering Numbers 1 through 4.

Before he becatne known as 0. Henry, the popular short story writer who was fall/oils for ending his stories with a "twist," William Sydney Porter drifted from one job to another, working as a draftsll/an , ba/lk teller, and 11ewspaper publisher. Facing criminal charges stemmingfmln his time at the balik, Porter fled to Honduras but returned to the United States and was later convicted. What follows is an imagined accollnt of the events that led to his conviction. The events have been liberally twisted into the shape of a classic 0. Henry short story.

A dapper man in a white linen suit sa t in a dusty cafe in a Honduras city. As the tropical sun beat down upon him, Will Porter reflected painfully on how the events of his life in the United States had taken him a million miles from his home.

His troubles began when he was working as a bank teller. He was never a good match for the job. Preoccupied with making up stories, he often bungled rus transactions. Then there came the day when his boss approached, angrier than usual.

He fumed, "Your cash drawer is $854.08 short. How do you expla in that?"

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Porter couldn't explain it. He was fired from his job, and his boss threatened to pursue criminal charges if the missing money could not be produced.

Por ter maintained his innocence; but eventually, with the help of influentia l friends, he reached an agreement to pay back the missi ng money over time rather than face charges. His principal source of income was now the weekly newspaper he had recently purchased. The paper, which Porter published, edited, and wrote almost single­handedly, was ca lled The Rolling Stolle.

The newspaper and his wife, Athol, were the two main joys of Porter's life, but keeping the newspaper afloat was a constant struggle. Porter was soon casting about fo r ways to increase the revenue of his struggling paper. Other newspapers had experienced success with a new style of journalism. Their writers would travel to far-off lands and send back stories of their adventures. Though his travels on behalf of The Rolling Stone had rarely taken him fa rther than fifty miles, Porter conceived a plan to travel to Honduras. There, he would cover the recent conflicts between American companies and their poor workers.

"Will, please be sensible," Athol had protested. "We can't afford that, and besides, you have

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responsibilities at home." She punctuated this last remark by coughing weakly into her handkerchief. Athol, always sickly, had recently developed an alarming cough. But Porter had no intention of being sensible. A rumor that the bank owners had lost patience with him had been circulating. To him, the trip to Honduras felt like his last, desperate hope.

As Porter waited in the Honduras cafe for an informant who promised to give him some secret information, he reached for his handkerchief. As he put his hand into the breast pocket of his linen suit, his fingers fell on a small, yellow rectangle of paper. He smoothed the crumpled paper on the tabletop. It was a check from one of the bank's customers for $854.08, made out to cash.

Li ke a geyser, the events of Porter's last day at the bank came rushing out of the deepest recesses of his memory. He remembered the gentleman who had endorsed the large check, he remembered handing over the cash, and he remembered how instead of placing the check in his drawer he had absently fo lded it up and put it in his pocket. A glimmer of hope began to shine th rough the flood of memories, as he rea li zed that this check in his pocket was the evidence that cou ld clear him both of his crushing debt and of the criminal charges that loomed back home.

Porter's reverie was interrupted by the appea rance of a waiter. "Senor Porter, you have a

11 telegram." Porter gave the youth a coin and tore '§ open the message. It was short and stark, and it g, broke his heart. His wife, Athol, the love of his g life, was dying of tuberculosis. She was not ';;' expec ted to live through the week. Porter's brief c

.~ moment of joy was overwhelmed by bitter guilt. <5 He now saw clearly that the stress of his 1) difficulties had pushed her into fatal illness. ·8 Weeks later, Porter stepped off a train. He saw ~ the federal marshals and offered his outstretched "" § fi sts for their waiting handcuffs. One marshal "§ said, "William Sydney Porter, you are under arrest E for the theft of $854.08 from the First Na tiona l ~ u • Bank."

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Porter said nothing. He knew he was guilty of something, but it wasn't stealing. He got into the carriage with the officers. "Gentlemen, may we stop at the cemetery on the way to the jail?" he asked. The marshals merely shrugged.

As they pulled into the cemetery, Porter saw the fresh grave of his beloved Athol. He pulled some wild flowers from the surrounding lawn, and then he reached into his right breast pocket. One of the marshals said, "Easy there, Porter, don't try anything." Porter showed them that he had merely pulled a small, yellow rectangle of paper out of his pocket, which he used to wrap the stems of the little bouquet.

"Just wrapping the posies, gentlemen," said Porter. And with that, he placed the flowers on the grave, whispered, "Forgive me, Athol," and turned to the marshals to face his fate.

NGSSS LA.7.2.1.7

o Read this sen tence from the story.

As the tropical sun beat down upon him, Will Porter reflected painfully on how the events of his life in the United States had taken him a million miles from his home.

The author expresses his idea by including

A. personification to give human qualities to the sun.

B. a metaphor to represent Porter's sense of adventure.

C. a simile to compare the sun to Porter's sense of isolation.

D. hyperbole to exaggerate how far from home Porter had traveled.

., Read this sentence from the story.

Like a geyser, the events of Porter's last day at the bank came rushing out of the deepest recesses of his memory.

Which literary device does the author use in the sentence above?

F. personifica tion, giving the geyser human qualities

G. metaphor, representing Porter's confusion

H. hyperbole, exaggerating Por ter's overwhelming panic

I. simile, comparing the force of Porter 's sudden recollections to a geyser

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e Read this sentence from the story.

He saw the federal marshals and offered his outstretched fists for their wai ting handcuffs.

In this sentence, the author crea tes an image of

A. an angry struggle.

B. a peaceful surrender.

C. a clever trick.

D. a helpless victim.

• By the end of the story, what does the check most likely symbolize for Porter?

F. hope

G . love

H. guilt

I. revenge

Answer Form

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Number Correct

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