Literary Device - Figurative Language
In this passage,
Khaled Hosseini uses the literary device of figurative language to compare the uncertainty of where a bomb will land to the moments before a verdict in a court case. Hosseini writes that these unnerving seconds of
angst result in a "brief and indeterminable time of feeling suspended"
(173). The definition of 'suspended' in this context is to come to a stop, or to pause. The word 'suspended' allows the reader to imagine the
setting that these characters are in. Their perception of time seems to move in slow
motion, and their lives at that moment is dictated only by the sound of the whistle. Hosseini's
comparison to a court case is an excellent example to help the reader visualize the character's situation. In the position of a
defendant about to hear his or her verdict, time may seem to be stopped or
paused because the verdict determines the defendants future, just as a
falling bomb determines the characters' futures.
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I think this comparison is especially interesting given how Mariam ends up dying--she is on trial, but her life is never really suspended. There is never any question about whether she will be put to death, because she is a woman. This comparison emphasizes how powerless women are because they have less of a voice in trial than the bombs do.
ReplyDelete--Hannah
I like how you mentioned "time seeming to stop or pause because the verdict determines the defendants future." The eeriness that comes with the final moments before decision is a great awy to visualize the character's situation. Good job!
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