The Curse: Literary Devices

LITERARY DEVICES

SIMILE

A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the words "like", "as", or "than".

Examples :

1)         …Pn.Kamsiah’s eyes bulged out like a toad’s…p.11

2)         …and growled like some rabid dog…- p.23

3)         Fingers pointed, harsh words were spoken and friends avoided her like a leper. p.104

4)         His eyes burned  wildly like the fire on his torch. - p.199

5)         “People swarm around you like flies to a garbage can. Like maggots to rotten

meat” – p.38

METAPHOR

Examples:

1)         Especially that rotten durian neighbour of yours… p.23

2)         …with the leaky- mouthed neighbour…-p.171

3)         …her father’s steely eyes…-p.222

PERSONIFICATION

An inanimated object is personified by attributing human traits and qualities to it.

Examples:

1)         …the black taxis whizzing past…  - p.3

2)         The plank beneath her feet creaked… - p.80

3)         …whose muscular biceps flexed menacingly…- p.93

4)         …it gripped his heart like a vice…-p.227

ONOMATOPOEIA

Words that sound like the objects they name or the sounds those objects make.

Examples:

1)         …the wheels of the suitcase screeched as she…-p.2

2)         The plank beneath her feet creaked…p.80

3)         There was a rustling of leaves…-p.219

4)         …words echoed boomingly in her head…-p.222

HYPERBOLES

Hyperboles are figures of speech that are exaggerated in order to create emphasis or effect

 

Examples:

1)         .… girls fell for him left and right… p.41

2)         Argh I’ll be dead if the teacher finds out… p.91

POINT OF VIEW

The point of view is the ‘eyes’ through which a story is seen and told. The reader will learn about the story through an outside voice, the narrator.

In the novel ‘The Curse’, the author has used the THIRD PERSON OR OMNISCIENT point of view. He even narrates the story using dialogues.

TONE OF VOICE

Attitude of a character or a piece of writing.

Serious, mysterious, sadness, reflective, regret, emotional, humorous, envious,

IMAGERY

Imagery is the use of words or phrases that appeal to the five senses- sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. These words create mental pictures in the minds of the readers hence making a piece of description more ‘alive’ and memorable.

Examples:

1)         She sat up and stared at the rising sun that glowed orange and vermilion. – p.205

2)         Sunlight danced through the leaves above – p. 206

3)         The shades of the trees now left them and the glare of the morning sun blinded him for a while.- p.213

4)         Somewhere nearby a church bell chimed and a red double-decker bus went whizzing by.- p.231

5)         The sweet smell of jasmine caressed her senses, lifting a weight from her

soul. p. 229

6)         Azreen felt warm tears rolling down her cheeks. Her skin felt cold and clammy even under the hot afternoon sun. p. 226