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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
Part 3, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Bound and Suffocated:
In the following passage, Larsen uses hyperbole to highlight Irene's internal conflict over her own relationships to Blackness and passing. Unable to settle down as she worries about Clare, Irene agonizes over her own relationship to her physical body:
She was caught between two allegiances, different, yet the same. Herself. Her race. Race! The thing that bound and suffocated her. Whatever steps she took, or if she took none at all, something would be crushed. A person or the race. Clare, herself, or the race. Or, it might be, all three. Nothing, she imagined, was ever more completely sardonic.
Here, Larsen uses hyperbole to emphasize the intensity of Irene's dilemma. Phrases like "the thing that bound and suffocated her" exaggerate the oppressive nature of race in her life. It is not literally suffocating her, but it is a large and unavoidable factor in her everyday experiences. Her feelings of panic and suffocation are enough that Irene believes any action she takes could lead to “the race” being "crushed." This extreme language is a symptom of her anxiety and the high stakes involved, conveying how overwhelming the situation feels to her. Irene is struggling here because she is torn between her own identity and her racial heritage. She is “caught between two allegiances” in a literal sense. The repetition of "herself" and "her race" also highlights the confusing duality she’s experiencing here. While it's impossible for Irene to take an action that would actually "crush the race," she feels overburdened enough that it could almost be true.
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