19: Figurative Language

    The first paragraph of chapter 13 is hyperbolic. In it, readers can comprehend the level of fear both Jim and Huck experience when they think their raft has floated away, and they are stuck dangerously close to seemingly murderous robbers. Huck narrates "Well, I catched my breath and most fainted," which depicts that he was startled and shocked by this occurrence. The paragraph also states that Jim was "so scared he hadn't hardly any strength left." This, again, emphasizes the terror the duo was suffering from and creates an understanding of the stress of this situation.

   The last line of this chapter is also an example of figurative language. It is as follows: "By the time I got there the sky was beginning to get a little gray in the east; so we struck for an island, and hid the raft, and sunk the skiff, and turned in and slept like dead people." (Twain, pg. 81) This sentence is a simile that describes the very deep sleep Huck and Jim fell into after their troublesome day. It illustrates that they were sleeping so soundly that were like dead people, or, in other words, dead to the outside world. They were so exhausted nothing would cause them to stir and they would most likely sleep for a very long time.