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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—Brand’s Laugh:
In the opening sentence of the story, the narrator includes a simile, as seen in the following passage:
Bartram, the lime-burner, a rough, heavy-looking man, begrimed with charcoal, sat watching his kiln at nightfall, while his little son played at building houses with the scattered fragments of marble, when, on the hill-side below them, they heard a roar of laughter, not mirthful, but slow, and even solemn, like a wind shaking the boughs of the forest.
The simile comes at the end of the passage when the narrator describes the stranger’s (Brand’s) laughter as sounding “like a wind shaking the boughs of the forest.” This chilling image of a simple laugh shaking the branches of the trees prepares readers for Brand’s unsettling presence in the story. While Bartram mistakenly believes Brand to be “a sane and sensible man” at first, it becomes clear over the course of the story that he is an unstable individual who cares more about outwitting God (by committing unpardonable sins) than being a kind and caring member of his community.
It is notable that Brand slowly lost his sanity while working the lime kiln alone, while—as the passage establishes—Bartram performs the job in the company of his son Joe. The narrator hints over the course of the story that Bartram will not end up losing himself due to isolation as Brand does, given his connection to his son and community more broadly.
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Explanation and Analysis—Eyes Like Fires:
After Brand joins Bartram and Joe at the lime kiln, the narrator moves into Bartram’s mind, sharing with readers his initial thoughts about Brand. The narrator uses a simile to capture Bartram’s unsettling experience of Brand’s eyes, as seen in the following passage:
And, indeed, even [Bartram’s] dull and torpid sense began to be impressed by an indescribable something in that thin, rugged, thoughtful visage, with the grizzled hair hanging wildly around it, and those deeply sunken eyes, which gleamed like fires within the entrance of a mysterious cavern. But, as he closed the door, the stranger turned towards him and spoke in a quiet, familiar way, that made Bartram feel as if he were a sane and sensible man, after all.
The narrator uses a simile here to compare Brand’s eyes to “fires within the entrance of a mysterious cavern.” This is notable for a few reasons. First, readers do not yet know Brand’s story, and this simile prepares them for Brand’s dark intensity. The image of fire, in particular, ties Brand to hellish and demonic energy, which proves to be true (as he has devoted his life to committing the Unpardonable Sin and seducing others into sinning as well).
This passage also demonstrates to readers that, while Bartram is able to sense something is amiss about Brand (noting the fire in his eyes), he ultimately misjudges Brand as “a sane and sensible man, after all,” after Brand starts speaking. This highlights how Bartram is not the best judge of character and how humans, in general, should not be trusted when it comes to judgment and ultimate knowledge (something that, Hawthorne suggests, should be left to God).
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Dawn on the Mountain:
After Brand kills himself during the night (by throwing himself into the lime kiln), the sun rises. The narrator uses a metaphor, a personification, and a simile in this moment in order to capture the beauty and hope inherent to the dawn of a new day, as seen in the following passage:
The early sunshine was already pouring its gold upon the mountaintops, and though the valleys were still in shadow, they smiled cheerfully in the promise of the bright day that was hastening onward. The village, completely shut in by hills, which swelled away gently about it, looked as if it had rested peacefully in the great hand of Providence.
The first sentence here contains a metaphor and a personification—the sun metaphorically becomes a can of paint “pouring its gold upon the mountaintops” and the valleys, in response, “smile cheerfully in the promise of the bright day” the way that humans might. Here the sun and landscape demonstrate the sort of generosity and joy that Brand had lost all access to in his obsession with sin. It’s notable that the story takes place entirely in the dark and it’s only after Brand dies that the sun rises, as it suggests that Brand was blinded to the beauty of the world around him, and, instead, was only able to see the “dark,” sinful elements of life.
The simile here—in which the narrator describes the local village tucked into hills and looking “as if it had rested peacefully in the great hand of Providence”—adds a religious tone to the passage. Providence, in Judeo-Christian theology, is the concept of God offering protection and care. The simile here juxtaposes the faith the villages have in God with Brand’s lack of faith—rather than trusting a higher power to help him find his way back to himself and his community, he kills himself after his quest for the Unpardonable Sin.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Village Doctor:
When introducing the Village Doctor, the narrator uses several similes, as seen in the following passage:
Brandy possessed this man like an evil spirit, and made him as surly and savage as a wild beast, and as miserable as a lost soul; but there was supposed to be in him such wonderful skill, such native gifts of healing, beyond any which medical science could impart, that society caught hold of him, and would not let him sink out of its reach.
The first simile here notes how alcohol “possessed this man like an evil spirit.” This description helps readers understand the extent of the Doctor’s addiction, and also contributes to the eerie mood of the story (with its mention of “evil spirits”). In the second simile, the narrator states that alcohol made the Doctor “as surly and savage as a wild beast,” establishing that the Doctor is not only a victim of evil possessing him, but is a sinner in his own right, causing harm to others when drunk.
The final simile notes that alcohol also made the man “as miserable as a lost soul.” This simile is particularly notable because it suggests to readers that a person’s sins often emerge from their own loneliness and suffering. This is true for the Doctor and this is true for Brand as well, whose isolation from community is the primary reason that he lost himself in his obsessions with knowledge and sin. Unlike Brand, the Doctor has not yet lost connection with humanity, as seen in the narrator’s description of how “society caught hold of him, and would not let him sink” because of his healing abilities. As a lowly lime kiln operator, Brand did not have such defenders.
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