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"The smile the men smilin is pullin the mouth back and showin the teeth. Lookin like the wolf man, both of them"(6).
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"He had engines in his feet and motors in his hands and couldn’t no train throw him off and couldn’t nobody turn him around"(6).
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"Blues Ain't No ..."
Literary Element Identification
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| "The smile the men smilin is pullin the mouth back and showin the teeth. Lookin like the wolf man, both of them"(6). | SIMILE: Comparison between the cameramen and a wolf. It is there to help explain how they don't really mean their large smiles and friendly appearance, similar to the "wolf in sheep's clothing" idiom. A wolf is a threat. |
| "He had engines in his feet and motors in his hands and couldn’t no train throw him off and couldn’t nobody turn him around"(6). | METAPHOR: Comparison between Granddaddy and a train. It shows how powerful he is, going at his own pace and not letting anyone stop or slow him down. He gets the job done. It also helps explain why Granddaddy is so well respected among the others. |
| Cathy say it’s because he’s "so tall and quiet and like a king" (6). | SIMILE: Granddaddy is respected as a noble, dignified leader. |
| Where Grandma shares the story of the man about to commit suicide (3). | METAPHOR: Granny is drawing comparison between the lack of respect and privacy in the bridge story and what the cameramen are doing to them now. In both, a mockery is being made of human struggles or "blues." |
| "Smilin man was smilin up a storm" (2). | HYPERBOLE: This describes the camera people coming in all fake smiles while being oblivious to Granny’s discomfort and wishes for them to leave. Smilin obviously isn't creating some kind of huge wind vortex with his smile. |
| The frozen patch "looks like a plastic spider web" (1). | SIMILE: This quote helps us get a better idea of what life is like for the characters; it is a tangible comparison made by children--they compare what they know. This shows that the girls are creative and observant, with a playful touch as well. |
| "Go tell that man that we ain't a bunch of trees" (1). | METAPHOR: This quote tells us that Granny feels the cameramen are treating the family like props and not people. |
| Granny was on the porch "making the cakes drunk" (1). | PERSONIFICATION: This quote tells us that she is drenching the cakes with alcohol. |
| "Let's get on away from here before I kill me somebody" (3) and "murder on her mind" (6). | HYPERBOLE: These quotes show the anger of the person, not her literal plans. |
| "The pecan barrels, the sled, me and Cathy, the flowers the printed stones along the driveway, the trees, the twins, the toolshed" (2). | IMAGERY: These visuals help develop the setting and provide clues to the family's unique life. |
| "[The cameramen] buzzin at our clothesline and the twins' bicycles, then back on the meadow" (2) | METAPHOR: This quote helps to develop the annoyingness of the cameramen as they attempt to take pictures of the family’s homestead. They buzz around and won't go away, like bees. Bees sting, posing a threat. |
| "Granddaddy holds his hand out--this huge hand I used to sit in when I was a baby and he'd carry me through the house to my mother like I was a gift on a tray" (6). | SIMILE: Granddaddy is characterized as valuing his grandchild, carrying her with care and reverence. |
| Granddaddy's hammer | SYMBOLISM: Represents protection. Granddaddy uses it to protect his family from the hawk. Later, he breaks the camera. He then "... picks up the hammer and jams it into the oilskin pocket" (7), putting away his "sword" like a king after battle. |
| "His woman takin bites out of her own hand and not even knowin it" (3). | HYPERBOLE: Not actually taking huge bites out of her hand, just maybe chewing her nails or something like that out of distress. |
| "I hear before I can see Granddaddy Cain comin through the woods in his field boots. Then I twist around to see the shiny black oilskin cutting through what little left there was of yellows, reds, and oranges. ... the sound of twigs snappin overhead ... | IMAGERY: Paints a picture for the reader so that they can feel like they are using their five senses while reading this. It gives them an understanding of what is going on by basically showing them what is happening vs telling them. |
| “And Granny just stared at the twins till their faces swallow up the eager and they don’t even care any more about the man jumpin” (3). | HYPERBOLE: Expresses how the twins realize their mistake in getting excited about the end of the bridge story. Their expressions change drastically (but are not literally swallowed). |
| “I didn’t even ask. I could see Cathy actress was very likely to just walk away and leave us in mystery about this story which I hear was about some bears.” | METAPHOR: The narrator resents cousin Cathy and refers to her (sarcastically) as an actress in the way she ends the story of Goldilocks. |
| “.... the squish of his boots ... the funny shadow he throws from the window onto the stringbean patch. The hammer draggin the the oilskin out ... Granny hummin--high, not low and grumbly ... the cakes again, you could smell the molasses....” (7). | IMAGERY: This portion of the falling action provides description of the family returning to normalcy--peace and quiet, a comfortable mood--after the confrontation with the cameramen is resolved. Sound, smell, and sight imagery are all present. |
| "He looks down into his chest of metal reels and things like he's protectin a kitten from the cold" (7). | SIMILE: This helps show how the cameramen never learned that they did anything wrong. No, their first thought is it save the film, so their movie doesn't get ruined. They treat it like a fragile kitten, better than they treat the family. |
| Granny was "moanin real low like a funeral"(5). | SIMILE: It helps describe how depressed she sounds about the cameramen being there. |
| "The old ladle drippin rum into the tins, like it used to drip maple syrup into the pails when we lived in the Judson's woods, like it poured cider when we were on the Cooper place, like it used to scoop buttermilk when we lived at the dairy" (1). | IMAGERY: This imagery helps the readers to imagine the grandmother and the cakes she was making easier in our minds. It also helps to establish how the family has worked for various employers and has moved a bit around. |
| Terms to know: IMAGERY | Imagery is language that evokes the five senses. It is descriptive and often embedded within figurative language. |
| Terms to know: DICTION | Diction means word choice. Examining diction and its layers of meaning help determine the nature of imagery, mood, or tone used in a story. |
| Terms to know: DIALECT | A unique variation of a standard language. This can add depth and authenticity to characterization and setting. |
| Terms to know: FLAT vs ROUND characters | Flat characters have only a few traits to them. Round characters have many dimensions. |
| Terms to know: STATIC vs DYNAMIC characters | Static characters do not change through the story. Dynamic characters undergo change and growth, realize something important. |
Created by:
carneymk