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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
Haunted in the Bush
Explanation and Analysis—100 Years Old:
Over the course of "Haunted in the Bush," Frenchie spends several hours in the woods alone, one member of a larger hunting party fanned out to cover more terrain. During this solo hunting excursion, Frenchie meditates, pondering his life and circumstances within a broader environmental context. This meditation continues even as Frenchie encounters an enormous moose, which he hesitates to shoot. He utilizes hyperbole to describe the moose, providing an explanation for his indecision:
I swallowed hard, aiming, fingers exact and stiff. He was so frigging big. It was like he was a hundred years old, like he had watched all of this happen. Imagine being here through it all — the wars, the sickness, the earthquakes, the schools — only to come to this?
Frenchie refers to the moose in this passage as "a hundred years old." While hyperbolic, this statement reveals Frenchie's attitude towards nature, history, and age. He regards these things with reverence, not to be readily disregarded. It saddens Frenchie to consider that, after surviving everything Frenchie himself has survived, such a magnificent animal would die only to rot away, half-eaten by fugitive humans who lack the time and space to fully utilize the animal. In the end, Frenchie refuses to kill this moose, partially out of reverence for the animal, and partially because he empathizes with its struggle for survival.
Related Themes:
The Four Winds
Explanation and Analysis—Death:
During their time spent at "The Four Winds," Frenchie and Rose share an intimate moment in Frenchie's bed—the adolescent boy's first romantic encounter. As such, this moment carries great narrative and emotional significance. Dimaline's choice to incorporate hyperbole into Frenchie's inner monologue reflects this:
I swallowed hard and breathed slow and steady, like you do when you have game in sight and you don’t want to scare it off. I hoped the concentration would take my excitement away. But then she moved her hand to cover mine and I almost died. It was such exquisite clarity of blood and skin and breath that I felt like crying. Instead I let her lace her fingers through mine and tilted my neck so that my face lined up with hers.
Frenchie hyperbolically asserts that he "almost died" when Rose touched him. This is an exaggeration, fueled by the immediacy and strength of young, newly emergent love and sexual awakening. Such an instance of overstatement is all the more poignant for the fact that both Rose and Frenchie have actually faced death and survived. During this intimate encounter, Frenchie "almost die[s]," but from joy and anticipation rather than starvation or dream extraction. Moments like this are crucial to the plot of The Marrow Thieves, representing hope in the midst of tragedy and terror.
Related Themes:
