Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Write out the examples of simile and metaphor in the short story 'a worn path'

A metaphor in Willa Cather's 1941 short story "A Worn Path" is found in the first paragraph as the narrator describes the manner in which Phoenix Jackson walks: "with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock." Through this metaphor the reader understands that Phoenix is measured and consistent in her gait, just as a pendulum is measured and consistent as it marks time.
In the same opening paragraph, Cather employs a simile to deepen her characterization of Phoenix as she undertakes her journey. She carries a cane made from an umbrella, and the narrator observes that it made a serious and steady sound in the quiet woods "like the chirping of a solitary little bird." This particular simile also introduces the idea that the main character is small and birdlike in her movements; this comparison deepens the bird motif already introduced in the character's name: Phoenix Jackson.
Using both a machine (a pendulum) and an animal (a bird) as comparisons, Cather begins her characterization of a woman with strength, determination, and the ability to endure despite her slight stature and advanced age.

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