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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
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Death and Homelessness:
In Chapter 1, Claudia meditates on housing issues in her community, introducing readers to the topic of homelessness through her limited child's perspective. On account of her youth, Claudia somewhat overemphasizes the permanency of being unhoused. She utilizes both simile and hyperbole in her discussion:
The concreteness of being outdoors was another matter—like the difference between the concept of death and being, in fact, dead. Dead doesn’t change, and outdoors is here to stay.
In this passage, Claudia compares the act of being "outdoors" (or homelessness) to death. Morrison uses figurative language here to emphasize the totality and seeming inescapability of homelessness in Claudia's mind. She views the lack of a home, like death, as a permanent state, something one cannot come back from. While this implication verges on hyperbole, it does reflect the totality of "being outdoors" in the mind of a young child.
Claudia may be young, but she is nothing if not observant. She picks up on the attitudes and feelings of the adults who surround her. When said adults express their disdain for the homeless, Claudia hears this too and internalizes it, forming her own opinion around those she hears. In her young, uninformed mind, homelessness thus appears to be a state of disgrace into which one can fall, just as permanent as death.
Related Themes:
