A Thousand Splendid In The Color Of Water Analysis

Charles Dickens once stated that “The men who learn endurance, are they who call the whole world, brother” (Charles Dickens Quote). Endurance has been represented in literature since long before the time of Charles Dickens and is a message readers often pocket and use during the course of their own lives. However, how are authors able to get the message across that to become successful, one might have to learn to endure through several hardships? One way to exemplify the significance of perseverance is through the use of literary devices. From the words of Charles Dickens himself, people who endure can conquer incredible challenges. The process of endurance is helped brought to life in stories using literary devices. In A Thousand Splendid …show more content…
The Color of Water is an autobiography written by a black man as a tribute to his white mother. The main character, James, has to persevere throughout his life because he constantly faces oppression from people of both races due to his background. As a writer, James knows to describe his experiences using literary devices to help get the theme of endurance across to a fuller extent. Specifically, imagery was used to make it easier to picture a scene in one’s mind. During a tough time in Mommy’s life, James describes his mother; “Mommy staggered about in an emotional stupor for nearly a year. But she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall” (McBride 163). A different side of endurance is shown by James’ mother. This metaphor points out that although sometimes it may seem like one cannot persevere because their life is not going as planned, the most important part is not giving up. Especially in an autobiography, imagery is helpful for an author to get their point across about a theme. By comparing his mother persevering to staggering yet not falling, McBride exemplifies how strong she had to be for her family even though she would have rather simply fallen over. In conjunction with imagery, personification helps bring foreign situations to a reader in a whole new light, making them less foreign so they can further understand the …show more content…
Due to the limited amount of characters and a perpetual setting, Hemingway uses a variety of literary devices to add interest to his writings. He also uses literary devices to exemplify the faith that Santiago, the old man, has for himself that is developed throughout his journey. This self faith that Santiago retains helps him endure a boating journey that not many men would be able to persevere through. Because Santiago was all alone, he was only able to have conversation with himself to keep his motivation strong. However, although dialogue was limited, it was still used by Hemingway to help show how he continued to build endurance. As Santiago prepares himself to further try to catch the fish, he advises himself, “‘You better be fearless and confident yourself, old man’” (Hemingway 84). Santiago knew that being confident in himself would be an important step on the road to catching this fish. Hemingway uses this dialogue to help build the Old Man’s character as willing and withstanding, as well as further show how he develops and endures throughout the text. Along with dialogue, Hemingway uses metaphors to help show how much Santiago endures. The author knows that not many people have sailed a boat far into the ocean and chased a fish alone for three days. Using metaphors, he is able to support the theme of endurance by showing how withstanding