Journal for Fahrenheit 451 – Figurative Language
When used effectively by writers, figurative language accentuates, heightens the effects
of, develops the meaning of, or emphasizes certain aspects of what is written. By
bringing in these unusual images or comparisons, the writer invites us to broaden our
minds and experience or view the world in a different way.
For the section of the novel “The Sieve and the Sand,” we will chart some of the
figurative language used by Bradbury.
Keep all of your journal entries together on notebook paper. We’re looking for
examples of simile, hyperbole, metaphor, and personification. When
finished, your journal will contain at least two examples of each of these types
with a total of at least 10 entries all together.
For each example of figurative language that you find:
1. Note the page number in the margin
2. Copy the quote, being sure to include enough of the sentence that the FL
makes sense and that the context of the quote is clear.
3. Identify the type of FL and explain the comparison or exaggeration.
NOTE: if one quote could work as more than one type of FL, feel free to
explain that, BUT IT STILL ONLY COUNTS AS ONE ENTRY.
4. Write “effect,” put a dash, and explain just that. What is the effect of the
FL? Does it make the passage easier to understand? More important?
Does it introduce a new emotion? Highlight a hidden aspect? Bring to
mind a different situation or object or idea? (YOU SHOULD BE GETTING
THE IDEA THAT THIS IS A PARAGRAPH IN WHICH YOU TALK ABOUT
THE FL IN SOME DETAIL. I WOULD BE AFRAID OF EFFECT ENTRIES
THAT ARE LESS THAN 4 SENTENCES LONG.) Also, remember to be
specific. “This makes it more interesting” doesn’t tell me anything; how it
makes this more interesting would be much better.
This assignment is a double daily grade, and as you can imagine, there will
be an assignment to accompany these journals, so the better job you do with
these, the easier that will be.
These 10 journal entries are due on _____________. You should have
finished reading “Sieve and the Sand” AND be ready for an in class writing
at that point as well.
Sample Figurative Language Journal Entry:
p. 11 – “(The bedroom) was like coming into the cold marbled room of a
mausoleum after the moon has set.”
Simile –Bradbury is comparing Montag’s bedroom (where Mildred has
tried to overdose) to a marble tomb so dark no light (the moon) enters by using
“like.”
Effect – Wow! I’m cold just reading this! If the bedroom is like a
mausoleum, we know it must feel dead since mausoleums are storage places for
corpses. Marble is such a hard, cold material; that detail makes the bedroom
even more lifeless and dead. If it’s like marble, has it been this way for a long
time? Marble makes me think of ancient Greek things or museum pieces.
Adding that the moon has already set, now it is pitch black as well as dead. Isn’t
this supposed to be his bedroom? Bedrooms should be warm and inviting,
comfortable places where one can relax. It’s a pretty important place for a
married couple also (Penelope and Odysseus?), so does this mean that their
marriage is cold and lifeless as well? Is home a scary, cold place for Montag?
This simile makes me feel sadness, isolation, and a little scared since there’s no
life here. Mildred seems kind of scary as well since this is the room she’s in
when we meet her. Maybe she’s why it feels this way…
NOTICE:
1. I talked about the figurative part (the mausoleum) FIRST before I talked
about the literal part (the bedroom). This is key to writing about
figurative language!
2. When you discuss the figurative part, tell what you know about it – and
don’t be afraid to look up things like mausoleums if you don’t know what
they are. If you can connect the figurative part to other things (like
cemeteries or Romeo and Juliet) do so! You are establishing what we
know about the figurative part that you’ll connect to the literal part.
3. You can do the same kind of discussion about the literal part. Remember,
you are working toward a connection between those things – why would
the writer want us to connect those things? Figure that out and talk about
it.
4. Rhetorical questions are fine – just don’t make them the last thing in your
entry.
5. My tone here is a bit more casual than other writing we have done. That’s
okay here! Just be sure you talk about the right things as you go.