Poetry Devices
This device involves the repetition of vowel sounds within a line of poetry, such as "the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain."
Answer: What is assonance?
In The Kite Runner, the recurring image of the "cleft lip" serves as this—a recurring element that reinforces the theme of class and physical scars.
Answer: What is a motif?
Central to The Kite Runner, this theme is explored through Amir's lifelong quest to atone for his "unatoned sins" regarding Hassan.
Answer: What is redemption?
This "lecteur" in Anna in the Tropics brings a world of romance and tragedy to the cigar factory, ultimately causing a rift between the workers.
Answer: Who is Juan Julián?
The Kite Runner utilizes this structural device, where the adult Amir looks back on his childhood in Kabul to explain his present state in San Francisco.
Answer: What is a frame narrative (or flashback structure)?
This term describes a line of poetry that carries over into the next line without a grammatical pause, often used to create a sense of urgency or fluidity.
Answer: What is enjambment?
When the narrator of Invisible Man describes the "Golden Day" riot, his detached, almost surreal description of the chaos is an example of this—the author's attitude toward the subject.
Answer: What is tone?
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s journey is primarily a quest for this—the ability to speak for herself and define her own existence.
Answer: What is voice (or self-identity/agency)?
In Invisible Man, this character is a "protean" figure who adopts many identities (preacher, gambler, lover) to survive in a world that refuses to see him.
Answer: Who is Rinehart?
Invisible Man begins and ends in the "present" (the underground hole), with the middle of the book serving as a chronological explanation of how he got there; this is known as this.
Answer: What is a circular structure?
This term refers to the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words in close proximity, such as "the furrow followed free."
Answer: What is alliteration?
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the pear tree is a classic example of this—an object that represents both itself and a complex idea like sexual awakening.
Answer: What is a symbol?
Both Siddhartha and Invisible Man explore this theme: the difficulty of maintaining a sense of self when pressured by societal or religious dogmas.
Answer: What is individual vs. society?
This character in The Kite Runner is described as "the face of Afghanistan," representing the pure, resilient spirit that Amir eventually tries to save in the form of his son, Sohrab.
Answer: Who is Hassan?
Their Eyes Were Watching God is structured as a conversation between Janie and this character on a back porch, making the entire novel an oral history.
Answer: Who is Pheoby Watson?
Often found in the work of Emily Dickinson, this type of rhyme uses words with similar but not identical sounds (e.g., "soul" and "all").
Answer: What is slant rhyme (or half-rhyme/near rhyme)?
This device is used in Sula when the "Bottom" is actually located on a hill; it is a statement or situation that seems contradictory but reveals a truth.
Answer: What is a paradox?
In Sula, the town of Medallion uses Sula as a "scapegoat," highlighting this theme regarding how groups define "evil" to feel "good."
Answer: What is the social construction of morality (or communal identity)?
In Siddhartha, this "world-weary" merchant teaches the protagonist about business and the material world, leading to Siddhartha's eventual spiritual stagnation.
Answer: Who is Kamaswami?
The structure of Siddhartha is often compared to this—a three-part journey involving departure, initiation, and return (attainment).
Answer: What is the Hero’s Journey (or Monomyth)?
The use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning, but specifically when used to create a "liquid" or "harsh" texture within a poem's auditory landscape.
Answer: What is Euphony or Cacophony depending on the texture.
In Anna in the Tropics, the characters’ lives begin to mirror the plot of the novel Anna Karenina; this literary "mirroring" is an example of this.
Answer: What is intertextuality (or parallel plot)?
In Anna in the Tropics, the transition from hand-rolled cigars to machines represents this theme: the loss of tradition to modernization.
Answer: What is tradition vs. progress (or the death of the artisan)?
This character in Their Eyes Were Watching God is Janie’s first husband; he represents the "security" and "land" that her grandmother (Nanny) valued over love.
Answer: Who is Logan Killicks?
Unlike the linear progression of many novels, Sula is structured by these—jumping through time and focusing on specific moments of crisis rather than a continuous daily plot.
Answer: What are episodic (or year-based) chapters?