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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Metaphors
Explanation and Analysis—The Angel’s Visitors:
When describing Pelayo and Elisenda’s successful (and exploitative) venture of charging visitors to see the angel they are holding captive in their chicken coop, the narrator uses a metaphor and several hyperboles, as seen in the following passage:
In the midst of that shipwreck disorder that made the earth tremble, Pelayo and Elisenda were happy with fatigue, for in less than a week they had crammed their rooms with money and the line of pilgrims waiting their turn to enter still reached beyond the horizon.
The metaphor here—in which Marquez refers to “that shipwreck disorder that made the earth tremble”—is meant to communicate how many people are arriving by sea to this small coastal town to visit the angel. In this metaphor, the swarms of people arriving in the town are akin to the number of people who might appear on their shores had there been a shipwreck. When Marquez notes how the arrival of this many people “made the earth tremble,” he is using hyperbolic language, exaggerating the truth so that readers can understand, again, just how many people are flooding into this small village in the hopes of meeting the angel (and having their ailments cured through miracles).
This passage contains other examples of hyperbolic language, such as the description of how Pelayo and Elisenda “crammed their rooms with money” and how the line of people waiting to see the angel “reached beyond the horizon.” Marquez again uses exaggerated language to communicate how successful the couple’s exploitative scheme is. This is one of the many moments in the story when the couple treats their angel captive with cruelty rather than empathy.
Related Themes:
