Choose one of the following literary terms: motif,
personification, and hyperbole to answer the next question. How was Elie able to effectively explain what
happened to him using this device? Why
is figurative language so helpful in explaining different situations?
Throughout "Night", Wiesel uses multiple examples of hyperboles. A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration, and Wiesel uses this device to emphasize his Holocaust experience. He uses the the hyperbole to highlight to amount of deaths he witnesses, the setting, and the pain he felt. “This conversation lasted no more than a few seconds. It seemed like an eternity”(32). Wiesel uses exaggeration to add a sense of unreality to what he experienced. Figurative language is helpful in writing because it helps convey what the author feels. If the author wants to put emphasis on something they might use a hyperbole of personification to make it have a larger impact on the reader. If they author wants to make a connection with something they have experience or felt, they might use a simile or metaphor.
ReplyDeleteElie was able to successfully use personification to not only get the facts across to the reader but also extract feelings from the reader, as well as thoughts they may have never thought before. He used personification to effectively explain how certain events and people changed him for an eternity. He also used personification to convey how deeply his emotions were at times. For example, Page 47, "Suddenly the silence grew oppressive." This was describing how impacting silence was on him, as it was just as impacting as any scream heard during the Holocaust. Figurative language is helpful with explaining different situations because it allows the author explain a deeper meaning or emotion that may not be as well conveyed if said without the use of figurative language.
ReplyDeleteI agree that personification evokes feelings from the reader. I think that sometimes figurative language is up to the person reading it and how they interpret it. I think that Wiesel used his language to show how deeply he felt about the events he experienced.
DeleteElie Wiesel was able to effectively explain what happened to him through personification. In "Night", Elie Wiesel experienced his loss in faith and when he first arrived to Auschwitz he said "Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever." Meaning when he got there, seeing the flames of the crematorium and the smell of burning flesh, took away or "ate" his faith. He thinks throughout the whole text, how could God allow something like this to happen?, and this quote explains how he felt about it. He is able to use figurative language throughout the text to explain the different situations because it adds a whole new element and way of looking at the experience.
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DeleteI agree that figurative language adds an new element to the book because it shows how the author feels. When Wiesel used that example of personification abut the flame, it did showed that the flames were sort of stronger than his faith as it consumed him. I agree with you explanation.
DeleteI agree that by using personification Elie was able to give the readers a new way at looking at his experiences. I like the quote you used from the book about the flames that consumed his faith. This quote showed the evidence for your claim that Elie Wiesel's use of personification gave the reader a new way of looking at things. This quotes expresses the severity of the flames and the smell of flesh had on Elie's faith. If he had just stated how this affected him and not used personification the impact wouldn't be as great.
DeleteElie uses both personification and hyprbaly to emphasis the text. Personification is giving human like traits to non human objects. A hytperbaly is an extreme exaggeration of something. Elie uses both of these greatly, as in this quout form pg. 67 "Every fiber in me rebelled". This shows that he rebelled against god as much as he can, using a hyperbaly ( not every fiber resisted) but also a personification ( fibers can't rebel).
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ReplyDeleteThroughout "Night", Elie uses multiple examples of personification. One example would be on page 84 where Elie says "Around me everything was dancing a dance of death. It made my head reel." This shows that Elie thought everything was moving way too fast. It is an example of personification because if death means dead how is it dancing? Using figurative language is a good way to example different situations because it makes the reader think about what the author is saying.
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