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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 8: Welcome Home, Our Sophie Mol
Explanation and Analysis—History Caught Off Guard:
As Velutha plays with Rahel and Estha, Ammu watches from afar. The novel uses a hyperbole and personification to describe the importance of Ammu's gaze upon Velutha:
The man standing in the shade of the rubber trees with coins of sunshine dancing on his body, holding her daughter in his arms, glanced up and caught Ammu’s gaze. Centuries telescoped into one evanescent moment. History was wrong-footed, caught off guard. Sloughed off like an old snakeskin. Its marks, its scars, its wounds from old wars and the walking-backwards days, all fell away. In its absence it left an aura, a palpable shimmering that was as plain to see as the water in a river or the sun in the sky. As plain to feel as the heat on a hot day, or the tug of a fish on a taut line. So obvious that no one noticed.
This passage hyperbolizes the power of Ammu’s gaze, wherein centuries pass in that one moment. Together, Ammu and Velutha attempt to change the history books and the Love Laws to no avail. History is also personified as being “caught off guard” and having “wounds from old wars,” as if it does not expect a Touchable and Untouchable to fall in love. Therefore, the love shared between Ammu and Velutha causes history to change into something new, plain for all to see. Ammu and Velutha have cracked open the hard facade of history and found a shimmering hope underneath. They believe that the power of their love, against all odds and the Love Laws, is strong enough to prove history wrong.
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