© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3 Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6 Figurative Language

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3: Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6: Figurative Language 2 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 Figurative Language Figurative language (otherwise known as figures of speech) makes a comparison between two or more unlike things. One thing is directly stated or implied to be similar to the other. Similes, metaphors, and personification are common kinds of figurative language.

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3: Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6: Figurative Language 3 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 A simile is a figure of speech that uses like, as, or as if to make the comparison. A metaphor directly connects two unlike things without using like, as, or as if. In a metaphor, one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. Personification is figurative language that assigns human attributes or feelings to a nonhuman subject. Authors use personification to make their writing clearer or more vivid.

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3: Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6: Figurative Language 4 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 The Use of Symbols A symbol is a person, object, or event that stands for something beyond its literal meaning. A good symbol captures in a simple form a more complicated reality. For example, a white dove symbolizes peace, a skull symbolizes death, a flag symbolizes a country’s values and aspirations, and a black cat crossing our path symbolizes bad luck. Writers use symbols to create a mood, to reinforce a theme, or to communicate an idea.

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3: Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6: Figurative Language 5 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Imagery In addition to the figures of speech discussed earlier, writers also use imagery to create word pictures. Imagery is language that has a sensory quality. It can appeal to any of the five senses— sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. A good reader must not only be able to recognize imagery, but also understand the author’s intent in presenting it.

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3: Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6: Figurative Language 6 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 Chapter 6 Test Taking Tip--Taking Multiple-Choice Tests On your next multiple-choice test, try applying these tips: 1. Pay close attention to oral and written directions. 2. Don’t spend too much time on any one question. Leave a difficult question blank, put a mark beside it, go on, and then go back if time permits.

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3: Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6: Figurative Language 7 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved For each question, read through all of the answers before choosing one. 4. Don’t change an answer unless you are quite sure you have found a better one. 5. If one of your choices is a combination of two or more answers (such as both A and B), both parts of the answer must be correct.

© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Art of Critical Reading Mather ● McCarthy Part 3: Interpreting What We Read Chapter 6: Figurative Language 8 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved A longer answer is more likely to be correct than a shorter answer. It often takes more words to write a correct answer because it may need qualifying phrases to make it correct. 7. Avoid answers with all-inclusive words like all, always, everyone, none, and nobody because they are likely to be wrong. Any exception makes the answer wrong.