Student Question
Can you provide examples of a metaphor, simile, and hyperbole from "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara?
Quick answer:
"Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara uses various figurative language, including metaphors, similes, and hyperboles. An example of a metaphor is describing the city as a "concrete jungle." A simile appears when Hazel hears the loudspeaker "clear as a bell" and compares running a race to a fever dream. Hyperbole is evident when Hazel claims to be "the fastest thing on two feet" and jokes about winning a race by herself in multiple positions.
Listing specific lines and page numbers is not particularly helpful unless we are both using the same text from the same source, so unfortunately I will not be giving you those.
Toni Cade Bambara's short story "Raymond's Run" is well known for many things, including its feisty protagonist and its realistic dialogue; however, there are also many examples of figurative language in the piece.
Metaphor - Raymond is mentally challenged and is always climbing or walking on things as if he were a circus performer. To him "the curb is a tightrope strung high in the air." Compared to the country, the city is a “'concrete jungle.'”
Simile - Hazel says she can hear the voice of the man on the loudspeaker "clear as a bell" right before the race begins. Earlier in the story, Hazel compares running a race to being in a dream:
[J]ust before I take off in a race, I always feel like I’m in a dream, the kind of dream you have when you’re sick with fever and feel all hot and weightless.
Hyperbole - Hazel says "the pistol shot explodes in my blood," claims to be "the fastest thing on two feet," and states matter-of-factly that
tomorrow I’m subject to run the quarter-meter relay all by myself and come in first, second, and third.
It is not surprising that there is so much hyperbole in this story, as Hazel is supremely confident in her running abilities--and with good reason.
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