Is this a simile or hyperbole?

Question

The tunnel opened its arms and devoured me.

Answer 1

Technically, it is personification because the writer is giving a non-living thing (the tunnel) a living characteristic (opening its arms, deouring).

But, out of hyperbole or simile-- it is a hyperbole, because it is an exaggeration. A good rule of thumb is that a simile is a comparison that always uses the words "like" or "as."

Answer 2

I mostly agree with Tara--it's personification.

It's definitely not a simile because similes are direct comparisons--that's why they always have "like" or "as."

The better answer is metaphor. Personification is a kind of metaphor, which is why I'm with Tara. Metaphors are tricky at first, but then you start seeing them everywhere. One way to describe them is they're comparisons without "like" or "as." So if the sentence said "the tunnel was a beast that opened its arms and devoured me," it's a little easier to see the metaphor--"the tunnel was a beast" (as opposed to a simile, which would be "the tunnel was like a beast...").

Another way to describe metaphors is talking about things as if they were other things. So when we talk about Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and those guys as "founding fathers," that's metaphorical language too; we're not referring to the fact that some of them had kids; instead, we're talking about the USA as if it were a family, and referring to them as the metaphorical fathers of that metaphorical family. Likewise, if we say an attractive person is "hot," we don't mean they have a fever, or they've been in the sun too long; we're talking about them as if they were fire (why that's the metaphor for attractive is a different question, but it is).

Sooooo...when we talk about the tunnel as if it were something with arms that ate people, that's metaphor too, even if we don't include the phrase "the tunnel was a beast."

Hope this (lengthy) explanation helps.

Answer 3

It is an exaggeration; therefore, it is hyperbole. Furthermore, it is also personification since it gives the tunnel, a thing, human qualities. It is not a simile since similes usually begin with the words "as" or "like". All of these, hyperbole, personification, and simile, fall under what is called figurative language or speech.

Answer 4

Hey Sheree,

This is a simile because it is giving the tunnel the figurative characteristic of having "arms" and "devouring."

Hyperbole would be an exaggeration such as "it was the biggest tunnel of all time."

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

This is a hyperbole because it is showing an exaggeration using the word devour.