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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
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Books and Time:
In Chapter 10, Kathy meditates on life at the Cottages, recalling the emotions and physical sensations that defined this period of time for her. She utilizes metaphorical language to construct an image of the past, which she presents to the reader:
If someone mentions the Cottages today, I think of easy-going days drifting in and out of each other's rooms, the languid way the afternoon would fold into evening then into night. I think of my pile of old paperbacks, their pages gone wobbly, like they'd once belonged to the sea.
In the above excerpt, Kathy metaphorically connects the imagery of books and turning pages ("the languid way the afternoon would fold into evening then into night," "I think of my pile of old paperbacks, their pages gone wobbly") to the passage of time ("days drifting in and out"). This use of indirect metaphorical language is apt, tying together themes of memory and narrative in Never Let Me Go. At the Cottages, Kathy spent many of her days reading novels—punctuating the passage of time, literally, by turning the pages of her books. Ishiguro builds a series of metaphorical layers atop this image, evoking the blurriness and imprecision of memory. The afternoon "fold[s] into evening and then into night" like the folding of "wobbly" book pages. Similarly, Kathy's memories "fold" or blend into one another, the clear lines and pages of her narrative going "wobbly" with time.
