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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
Part 2
Explanation and Analysis—Prince of the Ranch:
In his description of Slim, the “jerkline skinner” whose job is to lead a pack of mules, Steinbeck uses a combination of hyperbole, metaphor, and simile to portray Slim as an important individual on the ranch:
[He] moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen. He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch [...] He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bull whip without touching the mule. There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love [...] His hatchet face was ageless [...] His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer.
Here, Steinbeck’s narration is hyperbolic in its praise of Slim, who is described as moving with “a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen." The narrator insists hyperbolically that Slim is so skilled with his whip that he is able to kill a fly on the wheel of a mule “without touching the mule,” and further, everyone on the ranch listens carefully to his words “on any subject, be it politics or love” because of his wisdom. Due to his important role, he is described metaphorically as the “prince of the ranch,” suggesting that he receives a good deal of respect from the others. So too does the narrator use a simile that compares his “delicate” movements to a “temple dancer.” Steinbeck’s rich language in this description marks Slim as an important character in the novella.
