Figurative Language 1
Inferences
Fiction Elements
Non-Fiction
Figurative Language 2
100
Which type of figurative language is this? "I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide"
Simile
100
Anastasia sat by the fountain in the park with her head in her palms. She was weeping mournfully and wearing all black. In between gasps and sobs, Anastasia cried out a name: “Oh... John…” And then her cell phone beeped. Her hand ran into her purse and her heart fluttered. The text message was from John. She opened up the message and read the few bare words, “I need to get my jacket back from you.” Anastasia threw her head into her arms and continued sobbing. Q: Why is Anastasia upset?
John dumped her
100
"It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives." Q: What is the setting? (be specific)
A school on Venus where it rains all the time
100
"It is estimated that over twenty million pounds of candy corn are sold in the US each year. Brach’s, the top manufacturer, sells enough candy corn to circle the earth 4.25 times if each piece were laid end to end. That’s a lot of candy corn, but that’s nothing compared to Tootsie Roll production. Over 64 million Tootsie Rolls are produced every day! But even Tootsie Rolls have got nothing on the candy industry’s staple product, chocolate. Confectioners manufacture over twenty billion pounds of chocolate in the United States each year. Now that’s a mouthful!" Q: What is the main idea?
A lot of candy is made in the USA.
100
"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" Q: What two things are being compared?
Eyes to the sun
200
What type of figurative language is this? "A hook shot kisses the rim and hangs there, but doesn't drop"
Personification
200
Kyle ran into his house and slammed the door behind him. He paused with his back to the wall and tried to catch his breath. The puppy in his coat struggled to get out. Kyle looked out the window worriedly, but he saw that nobody was coming. Then he let the puppy out of his jacket. The puppy yelped while Kyle took the collar off of him. He threw the collar in an old soup can in the trash, carefully flipping over the can. The dog looked around nervously. Q: Where did Kyle get the dog?
He stole it
200
"And then, of course, the biggest crime of all was that she had come here only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was four in Ohio. And they, they had been on Venus all their lives, and they had been only two years old when last the sun came out and had long since forgotten the color and heat of it and the way it really was. But Margot remembered." Q: How does the setting in this story create the conflict and cause characters to act a certain way?
The constant rain makes the other kids jealous that Margot has seen the sun.
200
"Yellowstone National Park is mainly located in Wyoming, although three percent is located in the state of Montana. The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the park. The park sits on the Yellowstone Plateau, which is an average elevation of 8,000 feet above sea level. This plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain ranges. There are 290 waterfalls that are at least fifteen feet in the park, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, which falls 308 feet." Q: Summarize this passage in one sentence.
This passage is a description of Yellowstone National Park.
200
"real G's move in silence like lasagna" Q: What is being compared?
Real G's to the "g" in lasagna
300
What type of figurative language is this? "They loll and slop and lounge about, And stare until their eyes pop out. (Last week in someone's place we saw A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)"
Hyperbole
300
Everyday after work Paul took his muddy boots off on the steps of the front porch. Alice would have a fit if the boots made it so far as the welcome mat. He then took off his dusty overalls and threw them into a plastic garbage bag; Alice left a new garbage bag tied to the porch railing for him every morning. On his way in the house, he dropped the garbage bag off at the washing machine and went straight up stairs to the shower as he was instructed. He would eat dinner with her after he was “presentable,” as Alice had often said. Q: What type of job does Paul work?
Probably a farmer
300
"The prevailing belief was that she had been purposely left by a party of Texans, whose canvas-covered wagon, late in the day, had crossed the ferry that Coton Mais kept, just below the plantation. In time Madame Valmonde abandoned every speculation but the one that Desiree had been sent to her by a beneficent Providence to be the child of her affection, seeing that she was without child of the flesh." Q: What does this passage show us about Mme Valmonde's character?
She is caring, loving, unselfish
300
"When one hears the term “reality” applied to a television show, one might expect that the events portrayed occurred naturally or, at the least, were not scripted, but this is not always the case. Many reality shows occur in unreal environments, like rented mansions occupied by film crews. Such living environments do not reflect what most people understand to be “reality.” Worse, there have been accusations that events not captured on film were later restaged by producers. Worse still, some involved in the production of “reality” television claim that the participants were urged to act out story lines premeditated by producers. With such accusations floating around, it’s no wonder many people take reality TV to be about as real as the sitcom." Q: List 3 supporting points.
Reality shows occur in unreal environments, some scenes are restaged, some story lines are scripted
300
"Music like a curve of gold." Q: What does this simile tell us about music?
That it is beautiful/precious
400
What type of figurative language is this? "If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head."
Metaphor
400
Today would not be a good day for Vernon, co-owner of Vernon and Vernon’s Fry Shack, for the health inspector had just walked through the screen door that had no screen. The flies scattered. Vernon thought about the mousetraps in the back and wondered if they had been emptied. “Mr. Vernon?” inquired the health inspector. “We’ve received an anonymous tip about some unsanitary practices going on in the back.” The cashier stared fearfully at the inspector, while the fry cook quickly looked down. Mr. Vernon replied, “Well, our doors are always open to you, Inspector.” The inspector took the cap off of his pen. Q: Who reported the restaurant to the health inspector?
The cashier and the fry cook.
400
"The dentist moved only his wrist. Without rancor, rather with a bitter tenderness, he said: "Now you'll pay for our twenty dead men." The Mayor felt the crunch of bones in his jaw, and his eyes filled with tears. But he didn't breathe until he felt the tooth come out." Q: What is the conflict?
The dentist is angry with the mayor for killing innocent men
400
"A penny for your thoughts? If it’s a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare. Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny. These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters. If it’s uncirculated, it’d easily fetch $25,000 at an auction. Now that’s a pretty penny." Q: What is the main idea?
Some rare pennies are worth thousands of dollars.
400
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Q: What does the symbol of the roads show us about life?
The choices we make can change our lives.
500
What type of figurative language is this? "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
Symbolism
500
Chris was upset that the teacher made the new kid sit with him. He liked to sit by himself, and he didn’t want to make any friends. While the teacher was passing out papers, the new kid made the first move, “Hi, my name’s Sean.” Chris replied brusquely, “That’s nice,” without looking up from the notebook on which he was doodling. Sean paid Chris’s lack of manners no mind. Instead, he stole a glance at the notebook on which Chris was drawing. Sean noticed that Chris was drawing a guitar with skulls on it. Sean asked politely, “What’s your favorite band?” Chris ignored him. Sean continued, “My favorite band is The Lords of Death.” Chris looked up at him for the first time. “Hello, Sean, my name is Chris. I believe that we are going to be great friends.” Sean smiled. Q: Why is Chris suddenly nice to Sean?
They have the same favorite band.
500
"A quick conception of all that this accusation meant for her nerved her with unwonted courage to deny it. "It is a lie; it is not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is brown; and my eyes are gray, Armand, you know they are gray. And my skin is fair," seizing his wrist. "Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand," she laughed hysterically." Q: What is the conflict in this story?
Armand thinks Desiree is not white, and he is racist.
500
"Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a gym teacher at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He wanted a vigorous game that would keep his students moving. After rejecting a few other ideas because they were too rough or not suited for the walled-in gym, Naismith wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith’s students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn’t a part of the original game, and it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed, but this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today." Q: What sport did Naismith invent? Give 2 details to support your answer.
Basketball; the article mentions dribbling, baskets raised 10 feet in the air, passing and shooting
500
"“Dream” makes a giddy sound, not strong Like “rent,” “feeding a wife,” “satisfying a man.”" Q: What does this comparison tell us about dreams?
Dreams are not practical
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