To Kill a Mockingbird Group

Question:

maggie001
maggie001
Student
High School - 9th Grade

In the quote, "The Governor was eager to scrape a few barnacles off the ship of state", what literary device is used?

I don't understand why these statements are significant?

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Posted by maggie001 on Tuesday November 4, 2008 at 7:57 AM and tagged with literary device, metaphor, to kill a mockingbird.

Answers:

  1. morrol
    morrol Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    This quote is a metaphor. A metaphor compares two unlike things. In this case the barnacles probably represent something old, something or someone who has been clinging to the "ship" or "the state" for a long time. Here the governor is being compared to a captain of a ship, a leader, who must make decisions about who is on board.
    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/literary-terms/metaphor

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    Posted by morrol on Tuesday November 4, 2008 at 9:20 AM