Literary Analysis 2

How does the author, Natalie Babbitt, use figurative language devices in the Novel Tuck Everlasting

By Waldo W.

The superior utilization of figurative language devices in the 1975 novel Tuck Everlasting, author Natalie Babbitt, is a brilliant aspect of magical realism literature from the last few decades in her personal writing process. Overview the entire masterpiece, the majority of these devices are personification, simile and metaphor.

As a consequence to create a vivid atmosphere of the entire natural environment, Natalie Babbitt exploited an enormous amount of personification in the novel. As the description in Chapter Twelve “The rowboat slipped from the bank then, silently, and glided out, tall water grasses whispering away from its sides, releasing it” (Babbitt 20). In reality, the tall grasses near the bank are not able to whisper as a human being does. The author endowed the human-like behavior to the tall grass, which is fictional, however the figurative language devices of personification provided an emotional and imaginary space to the readers so that they can experience the steps of the rowboat and create the circumstance in their own imagination.

In order to capture the attention of the readers, simile is the inseparable portion on the aspect of figurative language. “The sky was a ragged blaze of red and pink and orange, and its double trembled on the surface of the pond like colour spilled from a paint box” (Babbitt 19). This typical simile with the symbol word “like” on the natural environment depicts the reflection of the sunset on the pond by inferring the color sprinkles from a paint box. It is not difficult to create the color of the paint box in the imagination, however if the author chose not to utilize this figurative language device, the statement could be “The reflection on the pond is the spilled color”. It cannot emphasize the peaceful landscape at all, the beauty of the language will be less attractive and eye-catching.

Increasing literacy and readability is one of the targets of the metaphor. In chapter six, there is an interesting description: “A great potato of a woman with a round, sensible face and calm brown eyes” (Babbitt 11). As we know, the potato is an ordinary vegetable, it can provide a peaceful and comfortable emotion. Moreover Mae is just an ordinary looking person and her character is artless and diligent, so the potato implies the characteristic of Mae, she can consulate Winnie back to peace after the adventure in the woods.

By visualizing the atmosphere, grabbing readers’ attention and arranging the readability and literacy of the novel, author Natelie Babbitt established a lifelike description on the characterization of each role in the novel. All in all, that’s the reason how Natalie Babbitt utilizes the figurative language devices in her masterpiece.

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