Are these men or statues? (Metaphor)
At the beginning of the story, the narrator was describing the place of the execution of an unknown man. It was a railway on the bridge. The railroad was far from civilization and only the victim and his executors – the private soldiers of the federate army were there. But then the lieutenant noticed a group of men, standing in the center of the bridge. The men showed no sign of living and the lieutenant even thought that these motionless figures are not human beings but statues, adorning the bridge. The metaphor is used for the enforcing of the effect of the utterance – the atmosphere of close death is in the air and it paralyses everyone around.
Death is a dignitary (Metaphor)
In the short story, a scene of execution of an unknown villain is depicted. The narrator doesn’t give any additional information about who is he or whom was he. This man is just about to be hanged by the soldiers. The reader just knows that there is a tomblike silence around – everybody feels the closeness of death and it paralyses both the soldiers and the man. Military people – soldiers, officers, treat death in their own way. They do not tremble facing it, they respect it, as if it was some dignitary “who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect”. The metaphor represents the way how the witnesses of the execution treated death.
Sound – metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmith’s hammer upon the anvil (Simile)
The last thoughts of the man sentenced to death were, undoubtedly, about his family – his wife and children. He will never see them again and maybe they don’t even know what had happened to him and he will never have a chance to tell them. And, suddenly, a striking sound broke through his thoughts, this sound was like “the stroke of a blacksmith’s hammer upon the anvil” – so noisy and strong. The man forgot about his family, the only thing that mattered to him at the moment was that sound. The simile is used for the driving attention to the thoughts of the man and how they change.
Intervals of silence hurt his ear like a trust of a knife (Simile)
The sudden sound which broke into his thoughts about family didn’t stop. It repeated with longer and longer intervals. The man didn’t want this noise to stop because it could be his rescue, - he thought. So, he waited for this sound with the growing apprehension. The moments of silence became unbearable for him, they grew longer , the delays became maddening. The sounds woke his strengths and increased his sharpness, but when everything was quite again, it hurt him like a trust of knife. The feeling that that far from here are people who could possibly save him, gave him a hope. The simile depicts the intension that grew when the man heard coming noises near the place of his execution.
Fiery heart without material substance (Metaphor)
After coming into consciousness, Peyton Farquhar had strange feeling in his head. It was hard for him to pull himself together and he fell like being in a luminous cloud, of which he was now merely the fiery heart without a body – it was just his soul he felt at the moment. The metaphor highlights the feeling of the man who was just saved from the terrible death. He didn’t understand if he was already dead or still alive and, if he was alive, who has saved him and where should he go no. he was completely lost, but his aspiration to keep his life moved him forward.
