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Pathos
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Compassionate Sea:
When Solomon is on the ship taking him from Washington, D.C. to Louisiana to be sold into slavery, he uses a personification to communicate the depth of his despair:
It would have been a happy thing for most of us—it would have saved the agony of many hundred lashes, and miserable deaths at last—had the compassionate sea snatched us that day from the clutches of remorseless men. The thought of Randall and little Emmy sinking down among the monsters of the deep, is a more pleasant contemplation than to think of them as they are now, perhaps, dragging out lives of unrequited toil.
By envisioning how a “compassionate sea” would have saved him and his friends (including Randall and Emily, Eliza’s young children), Solomon makes it clear to readers that, to enslaved people, death is preferable to a life in captivity.
In using this figurative language (and stating directly that he wished his companions were dead instead of “dragging out lives of unrequited toil”), Solomon hopes to shock his (primarily white) readers and show them the true violence of slavery. Most readers would visualize a “compassionate sea” as one that would safely take their boat to shore, but Solomon upends this assumption, unafraid to tell the truth about the horrors of slavery.
Related Themes:
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—Solomon's Violin:
At a few different points in the memoir, Solomon uses personification to capture the important, comforting role his violin played in his life during the years he was enslaved. In Chapter 14 he writes:
I met with other good fortune, for which I was indebted to my violin, my constant companion, the source of profit, and soother of my sorrows during years of servitude.
He lovingly describes his relationship to the violin again in Chapter 15:
Alas! had it not been for my beloved violin, I scarcely can conceive how I could have endured the long years of bondage […] It was my companion—the friend of my bosom—triumphing loudly when I was joyful, and uttering its soft, melodious consolations when I was sad.
In both passages, Solomon calls the violin his “companion,” and ascribes other human-like qualities to the instrument, such as the ability to triumph, console, and soothe. All this figurative language communicates the power of music and how it helped Solomon survive the horrors of enslavement.
Similarly, the passages demonstrate how deeply lonely the experience of being enslaved was for him, such that a musical instrument was his closest companion and friend. With these descriptions, Solomon is seeking to elicit empathy from readers and help them understand the desperation of his situation while he was enslaved.
Related Themes:
Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Solomon's Violin:
At a few different points in the memoir, Solomon uses personification to capture the important, comforting role his violin played in his life during the years he was enslaved. In Chapter 14 he writes:
I met with other good fortune, for which I was indebted to my violin, my constant companion, the source of profit, and soother of my sorrows during years of servitude.
He lovingly describes his relationship to the violin again in Chapter 15:
Alas! had it not been for my beloved violin, I scarcely can conceive how I could have endured the long years of bondage […] It was my companion—the friend of my bosom—triumphing loudly when I was joyful, and uttering its soft, melodious consolations when I was sad.
In both passages, Solomon calls the violin his “companion,” and ascribes other human-like qualities to the instrument, such as the ability to triumph, console, and soothe. All this figurative language communicates the power of music and how it helped Solomon survive the horrors of enslavement.
Similarly, the passages demonstrate how deeply lonely the experience of being enslaved was for him, such that a musical instrument was his closest companion and friend. With these descriptions, Solomon is seeking to elicit empathy from readers and help them understand the desperation of his situation while he was enslaved.
Related Themes:
Chapter 18
Explanation and Analysis—Whips and Fields:
During Epps’s brutal public beating of Patsey, Solomon uses a pair of personifications to capture the violence of his actions as well as the eerie atmosphere of the event:
She no longer writhed and shrank beneath the lash when it bit out small pieces of her flesh. I thought that she was dying! It was the Sabbath of the Lord. The fields smiled in the warm sunlight—the birds chirped merrily amidst the foliage of the trees—peace and happiness seemed to reign everywhere, save in the bosoms of Epps and his panting victim and the silent witnesses around him. The tempestuous emotions that were raging there were little in harmony with the calm and quiet beauty of the day.
By describing how the whip “bit out small pieces of her flesh,” Solomon makes Patsey’s experience much more visceral for the reader, as they imagine the whip acting as penetrating teeth. Then, by noting how “the fields smiled in the warm sunlight,” Solomon unsettles the reader, forcing them to imagine the agony of being violently attacked like this on a warm Sunday, the one day that they as enslaved people were allowed to rest (and a day that likely meant a lot to white Christians reading the book). All this personifying language subtly furthers Solomon’s goal of inspiring readers to reject slavery and take action to abolish it.
Related Themes:
