LANGUAGE AND STYLE - Stylistic Devices - The Pearl Study Guide

• Simile
• Metaphor
• Symbol
• Foreshadowing
• Personification

Simile

“And the music of the pearl rose like a chorus of trumpets in his ears.”

"It was as large as a sea-gull's egg." Page 26. This is how big the pearl was when Kino opened it. He says is was a very large pearl 

Metaphor

“Its warm lucence promised a poultice against illness and a wall against insult.”

"He was an animal now, for hiding, for attacking, and he lived only to preserve himself and his family." Page 69. This quote is a metaphor because it is comparing Kino to an animal who protects his family. 

Symbol

An object or objects that represent an entire system of ideas.

The scorpion symbolizes evil because Coyotito was stung in Chapter 1 and scorpions are generally thought of as evil. This starts destruction in the family which leds to Kino's accidents.

Foreshadowing

To show or indicate beforehand
“…and his mind could hardly make the leap -–a rifle – but why not, since he was so rich. And Kino saw Kino in the pearl, Kino holding a Winchester carbine…’A rife,” he said. ‘Perhaps a rife.’

Personification

Giving human characteristics or feelings to nonhuman creatures, inanimate objects, or abstract ideas.
“…the nerves of the town were pulsing and vibrating with the news.” 

Page 27 This quote is personification because it says that the town was pulsing and vibrating but towns cant do that. The author was giving the town a human charcteristic.

Exercise

Using the information above, identify which device is used in each line of text below. Write the best answer on the line before each number. Portions of some sentences have been underlined to assist you.

1. “ In the canoe she was like a strong man"
2. "...and the canoe creased the water and hissed with speed"
3. "...and the beggars set Juana and Kino down as povertv people..."
4. "...the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east''.
5. "Juana went to the fire pit and uncovered a coal and fanned it alive"
6. "A thin, timid dog came close and, at a soft word from Kino, curled up, arranged its tail neatly over its feet, and laid its chin delicately on the pile. It was a black dog with yellow-gold spots where its eyebrows should have been"
7. "The procession crossed the blinding plaza..."
8. “The glaring sun threw the bunched shadows ofthe people blackly on the white wall"
9. "He kicked his foot free from the rock loop..."
10. "The flutes were shining black to brown, and only a few small barnacles adhered to the shell".