Similes & Metaphors
What literary device is used here: The god Pangu was as vast as the universe he was creating?
What is a simile?
What is the object given a human quality in this sentence: The Yellow River groaned as it carved a path through the land.
What is the Yellow River?
Identify both the underlined words as either an adverb or an adjective: The bold Dragon King bravely guarded the Eastern Sea?
What is an adjective - bold?
What is an adverb - bravely?
Passage: Sun Wukong, born from a magic stone, spent years training with a sage. He learned 72 earthly transformations, cloud-somersaulting, and secret spells, believing he needed powerful skills to prove his worth.
Question: What is the main idea of this section about Sun Wukong's early life?
What is: The Monkey King dedicated himself to years of intense training to gain great power.
Question: Change the bold word to the correct plural.
The Monkey King was always ready for a fight, throwing punch at the enemy.
What are punches?
If a story says the Jade Emperor's decree was a stone wall of law that no one could pass, what two things are being compared in the metaphor?
What is a decree (or law) and a stone wall?
Give a new sentence using personification for Kunlun Mountain, the home of the gods.
What is: Kunlun Mountain watched silently over the mortals below. (Example answer - may vary).
Question: Identify the adverb(s) and what word does it modify in this sentence: Carefully, the legendary craftsman, Yu, shaped the ding (cauldron) so the bronze was perfectly smooth?
What is: The adverbs are Carefully (modifying the verb shaped) and perfectly (modifying the adjective smooth).
Passage: Wukong traveled to the Eastern Sea and demanded a magic weapon from the Dragon King. The Dragon King, fearing the monkey's growing power, reluctantly gave him the Ruyi Jingu Bang, a massive, transforming iron staff.
Question: What is the main purpose of the Dragon Kingās actions in this part of the story?
What is: To appease the powerful and demanding Monkey King by giving him the staff he wanted.
Question: Change the bold word to the correct plural.
To escape his troubles, Wukong had to visit the hidden homes of many ancient fairy.
What are fairies?
Change the simile: The Dragon King's roar was like thunder across the sea, into a metaphor.
What is: The Dragon Kingās roar was thunder across the sea.
What human action is the moon doing in this personification: The moon wept silver tears onto the dark garden of the moon goddess Changāe?
What is wept (or crying)?
Identify the adverb and the word it modifies: Fiercely protective, the goddess Xi Wangmu watched over her magical peaches.
What is Fiercely, modifying the adjective protective?
Passage: After being invited to Heaven, Wukong was given the minor title "Keeper of the Heavenly Stables." He was furious, realizing this was a low-ranking job, and he immediately stormed back to Earth, proclaiming himself the "Great Sage, Equal of Heaven."
Question: Which detail best supports the main idea that Wukong was vain and easily angered?
What is: Wukong was furious that the job was low-ranking and immediately ran away and gave himself a grander title.
Correct or Incorrect: If incorrect, correct the plural to the proper ending.
Sun Wukong's magic staff can shrink to the size of a needle, but it can also expand to crush entire mountain's.
What is Incorrect? The correct plural form is mountains, not mountain's.
Explain the meaning of this metaphor: The Monkey King, Sun Wukong, was a whirlwind of chaos in the Celestial Palace.
What is: Sun Wukong was fast-moving, uncontrollable, and destructive?
The Eight Immortals found that the sea was often an enemy. Write a sentence using personification that gives the sea a hostile, human quality.
What is: The sea growled with fury as the Immortals crossed its waves. (Answers may vary, must use a hostile human action).
In the following sentence, identify all the adjectives and the words they modify: The eight immortals courageously sailed their simple boat across the deep ocean.
What is: The adjectives are eight (modifying immortals), simple (modifying boats) and deep (modifying ocean).
Passage: The Celestial Army failed to capture Sun Wukong because his skills were too great. Finally, the Buddha trapped him under a mountain. After 500 years, the goddess Guanyin offered him a chance at freedom if he protected the monk Tang Sanzang on his journey to India.
Question: What is the main idea that links Wukong's imprisonment to his eventual release?
What is: Wukong's enormous power caused him trouble, but it was also the reason he was given a chance at redemption.
Correct the Error: To avoid capture, Sun Wukong quickly changed into three different foxs hiding in one of the nearby caves.
What are foxes?
What literary device is used: Nuwa's repaired sky was a patchwork quilt of five colors against the darkness? What's being compared?
What is a metaphor? (Bonus: What two things are compared? The sky and a quilt.)
What human feeling is given to the personified noun in the following sentence: The stars trembled as the monstrous demon, Gonggong, attacked the sky?
What is fear?
Rewrite the sentence, adding an adjective to describe Sun Wukong and an adverb to describe how he somersaulted: Sun Wukong somersaulted across the sky.
What is: The mischievous Sun Wukong somersaulted quickly across the sky. (Example answer - may vary).
Passage: Wukong faced many demons and monsters, often using his shapeshifting and fighting skills to protect the monk, who was too gentle and trusting to defend himself. Sometimes, the monk would misunderstand Wukong's actions and punish him.
Question: What is the best summary of the main idea of their relationship?
What is: Wukongās power was constantly needed for protection, but his rough methods often caused conflict with the gentle monk.
Correct the Error: When the Monkey King first defeated the armies of Heaven, the Jade Emperor sent out two generali to defeat his forces and capture him.
What is generals?