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Definition of Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations intended to emphasize a point... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements... read full definition
Hyperbole
Explanation and Analysis—The Weight of a Finger:
When describing how which soldiers relate to one another when one of them is wounded, the narrator uses a hyperbole:
His comrades look at him with large eyes thoughtfully. Moreover, they fear vaguely that the weight of a finger upon him might send him headlong, precipitate the tragedy, hurl him at once into the dim, gray unknown.
The hyperbole here—in which the narrator notes how healthy soldiers fear that “the weight of a finger upon [a wounded soldier] might send him headlong […] into the dim, gray unknown”—communicates just how fearful soldiers are of interacting with a wounded comrade. The exaggerated language helps readers understand why the lieutenant’s subordinates do not approach or comfort him after he has been shot out of the blue while dividing up coffee rations.
The implication here is that these inexperienced soldiers do not want to touch the lieutenant because they fear accidentally causing more harm to someone who has already been wounded and that they do not want to touch the lieutenant because they understand injury to be akin to death for a soldier. In other words, part of why they are keeping their distance is due to secondhand embarrassment and shame, as well as an awareness that this injury means a total loss in status (and employment) for the lieutenant.
Related Themes:
