Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Figurative Language

There's a sixth grader I tutor some evenings and tonight we were reading a book for his reading homework. The book was "Bridge to Terabithia," and there was a line I came across tonight that caught my eye:

Jess drew the way some people drank whiskey.


It's a nice line. I'm actually a little jealous of it to be honest. However, this is a book aimed at kids, so I question the appropriateness of it. Don't get me wrong, my questioning doesn't stem from the line refering to alcohol. Kids know what whiskey is, talking about it is no big deal. What I wonder, though, is how many kids can really decode this particular metaphor; hopefully there aren't too many of them that are whiskey drinkers.

Honestly, not being a whiskey drinker myself, I'm not sure I understand what it means. How can the way someone draws be like drinking whiskey? Any whiskey drinkers out there want to help me out?

1 comment:

  1. It's a strange line, and I don't think as highly of it precisely because you have to sit and ponder and guess.

    Recently, I decided to try liking whiskey in general and Scotch in particular. Turns out you have to drink it attentively, slowly, carefully--otherwise it's just some strong booze. With attention and time, you can detect beautiful and rich flavors.

    Maybe that's what he meant. Or else he just meant: Like a fish. But I don't know how fish draw.

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