Figurative Language - With a Little Help From My Friends

Metaphor: a form of figurative language that compares two unlike things.

Example: Life is a roller coaster.

Simile: a form of figurative language

Example: This homework is a piece of cake!

Hyperbole: a form of figurative language that over exaggerates something to get the point across.

Example: I was so hungry I could eat a whole horse.

Quote:

Type of Figurative Language:

Explain the effect that each use of figurative language has on the story/idea:

My life became one long running Oprah show, minus the free luxury accommodations in Chicago, and Oprah (paragraph 1).	Metaphor	This metaphor emphasizes how Dumas’ life is like an Oprah show. She’s comparing her life to the Oprah show which is full of action minus the “free luxury accommodations.”
I tried my best to be a worthy representative of my homeland, but, like a Hollywood celebrity relentlessly pursued by paparazzi, I sometimes got tired of the questions (paragraph 9).	Simile	This simile to a Hollywood celebrity emphasizes how people were interested in her life. It really shows how ignorant the Americans were. They thought that they traveled on camels, had no electricity, and asked about the Sahara. She felt like a celebrity with all the attention and questions but at some point, she was sick of the attention.
This  avalanche of kindness did not make our impending departure any easier (paragraph 16).	Hyperbole	This hyperbole exaggerates how hard it would be to leave the US, after how kind the Americans were to Dumas and her family. She uses the word “avalanche” because it means an “overwhelming quantity” of kindness.
If someone had been able to encapsulate the kindness of the second-graders in pill form, the pills would undoubtedly put many war correspondents out of business (paragraph 15).	Metaphor	This really explains how kind the second-graders were towards Dumas. The author uses the phrase “undoubtedly put many war correspondents out of business.” to exaggerate how the students behaved towards one another.

Examining Context - With a Little Help From My Friends

Category:

Details from the Story that explain the following aspects of the social/historical context:

Quotes:

Explanation to support an insight about America, American identity, and/or what it means to be an American immigrant:

Politics	After the Iranian Revolution, Iranians were thought of in a negative way. This caused Americans to treat immigrants from Iran poorly.	“We remember the kindness more than ever, knowing that our relatives who immigrated to this country after the Iranian Revolution did not encounter the same revolution.”	Americans treated the Iranians differently after the Iranian Revolution. Before the Revolution, Americans were kind to take care of them, just like Damas. This explains how Americans can be unfair and unkind to others that are not like them.
Traditions	There was a Halloween parade and one of the parents knew that Iranians didn’t celebrate Halloween so they brought one.	“On Halloween, one family brought over a costume, knowing that I would surely be the only kid in the Halloween parade without one.”	This is an example on how this family had to adopt new traditions such as celebrating Halloween. They probably have traditions as well, but Americans celebrate this through parades, trick-o-treating, and candy.
Food	The foods that they ate in Iran were much different than in the US. For example, some foods that might seem normal in Iran were gross to Americans. Some Iranians never had any food that Americans ate and the same thing goes for Americans.	“Most people in Whittier did not know about the famous caviar and once we explained what it was, they’d scrunch up their faces. ‘Fish eggs?’ they would say. ‘Gross.’”	Damas uses this example to show how these immigrants had to adjust to American culture. Iranians were used to eating things like fish eggs which are gross to Americans. It’s all about what kind of culture people grow up with. Damas has to get used to America as well. They begin to eat different food like traditional American meals and snacks like oreos or peanut butter cookies.
Values/ Beliefs	In the story, one of the boys that went to Dumas’ school kept asking about the camels in Iran. He was probably mistaking Iran for another country because they didn’t own any camels. He was disappointed to hear that. He also asked her about the tents they lived, access to electricity, and the Sahara.	“None of the kids in Whittier, a city an hour outside Los Angeles , ever asked me about geography. They wanted to know about more important things, such as camels.”	This proves how ignorant  Americans can be. Many other countries could assume all Americans are ignorant, just like how we assume all Islamic people are terrorists. Labeling people isn’t right, but that’s what Americans do. When the boy relates Iran with camels, no electricity, and the Sahara, he is stereotyping Iran.
Geography	Dumas and her family understood their Geography, and where they live but no one else understood what they were talking about.	“I had to learn the shape of Iran, and the location of its capital… we shared borders with Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and the USSR.”	Being an immigrant and understanding the geography of the U.S was a great advantage. It allowed them to understand their culture, even though they didn't live there. Once Damas and her family learned that no Americans knew where they lived, they were confused on how ignorant they were. They thought it was weird. She had lived there all their life thinking that people knew where Iran was and it's culture.