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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—Laughing with the Trees:
When Lizabeth wakes up in the middle of the night and hears her father sobbing over the fact that he cannot find work, she is shocked. When reflecting on this moment, she uses a hyperbole, as seen in the following passage:
My father was a strong man who would whisk a child upon his shoulders and go singing through the house. My father whittled toys for us and laughed so loud that the great oak seemed to laugh with him, and taught us how to fish and hunt rabbits. How could it be that my father was crying?
The hyperbole here—in which Lizabeth describes how her father “laughed so loud that the great oak seemed to laugh with him”—uses exaggerated language in order to help readers understand just how joyous and carefree her father normally is. Lizabeth does not actually believe that trees can laugh, but frames it this way to capture her father’s larger-than-life nature.
This hyperbolic claim is significant because it communicates that crying is out of character for Lizabeth’s father and therefore helps readers to understand that his tears are not a common occurrence. He is clearly breaking down after months (if not years) of looking for work, and not being able to find anything because of the combination of anti-Black racism and the economic downturn of the Great Depression.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Monument to Decay:
When describing Miss Lottie’s broken-down house, Lizabeth uses hyperbolic language, as seen in the following passage:
A brisk wind might have blown it down, and the fact that it was still standing implied a kind of enchantment that was stronger than the elements. There it stood, and as far as I know is standing yet—a gray rotting thing with no porch, no shutters, no steps, set on a cramped lot with no grass, not even any weeds—a monument to decay.
Lizabeth uses a number of hyperboles in reference to Miss Lottie’s here, starting with her claim that “a brisk wind might have blown it down.” This is clearly an exaggeration meant to help readers understand just how rickety and worn-down the house is. Her claim that the only way the house could still be standing is due to “a kind of enchantment that was stronger than the elements” is again hyperbolic. There is no other reference to enchantments or magic in the story, so readers can assume that Lizabeth is only using this extreme language in order to capture the house’s ramshackle nature. The final use of hyperbolic language here—in which Lizabeth refers to the house as “a monument to decay”—furthers her goal of capturing the house’s dilapidated condition.
All of these exaggerated descriptions are significant in that they help readers to understand how poor Miss Lottie is, which thereby helps them to understand how significant it is that she puts her limited resources into growing and tending to her marigolds. In other words, Miss Lottie may have given up on maintaining her house, but she clearly refuses to let her inequitable society fully strip her of beauty and abundance.
Related Themes:
