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Pathos
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Pages 29-60
Explanation and Analysis—Grieving, Solar Mother:
As the man acquaints the reader with post-apocalyptic reality, he describes Earth’s planetary cycles with an instance of personification and simile:
Dark of the invisible moon. The nights now only slightly less black. By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp.
This comparison of the sun to a grieving mother reflects the strangeness of the new world. The simile features an unnatural reversal: rather than circling the sun, the earth stays fixed while the sun revolves around it, as though the cosmic order itself has been suddenly thrown off-kilter. In this case, the comparison even plays upon the saying that “the earth will keep turning.” The planet—and time—have halted to a standstill, unable to move on from the shock and tragedy of apocalypse.
The sun’s never-ending orbits take on a quality of eternal meaninglessness. Both grief and orbits seem to travel in infinite loops, and the metaphor’s appeal to both emphasizes this sense of circularity. The sun seems to be moving for movement’s sake, the pointlessness of which closely mirrors the man and boy’s own journey. The father and son travel southwards towards no apparent destination, with no goals or itineraries in mind. They have no plans, apart from finding their next meal or locating convenient campsites. Much like the sun, they simply move through time and space.
Related Themes:
