What are 4 different types of figurative language and what do they mean?

"See, when I play ball, / I'm on fire. / When I shoot, / I inspire. / The hoop's for sale, / and I'm the buyer"

Alexander uses numerous metaphors when describing the experience of watching or playing basketball; this is merely one of the first. Josh says first that he is "on fire," revealing that he knows he is fierce and is doing very well. Then he says that the hoop is "for sale" and he is "the buyer," a cute way of showing that he "owns" the hoop because he "bought it" with his prowess.

When Josh complains to Dad about JB and his new girlfriend and how Dad ought to talk to him and tell him he's neglecting the family, Dad laughs and says, "Filthy, talking to your brother / right now / would be like pushing water uphill / with a rake, son" (91). This Sisyphean task of trying to push water up a hill with a rake is an effective way of suggesting how useless it is to try to get through to JB. As the water would slip through the rungs of the rake, so Dad's words would fall on JB's deaf ears.

Imagery:

Alexander excels at creating images of the basketball court and the players dribbling, running, shooting, performing dazzling maneuvers, and shouting out to each other. He uses vivid descriptions and structures his words and lines in ways that connote movement, the chaos of the gym, and the exhilaration of the players as they do what they love. For example, we can picture Josh in our mind's eye due to Alexander's writing here:

"'cause now I'm CRUNKing

CrissCROSSING

FLOSSING

flipping

and my dipping will leave you

S

L

I

P

P

I

N

G"

Symbol: Mom's Text
Mom is texting Josh at the end of the novel when she is with Dad, and, at the end of her messages, the term "crossover" gets its own message. She's talking about Josh doing well on his crossover on the court, but the word sitting there all on its own is symbolic of Dad "crossing over" into death at the very same time as Josh is doing his crossover in the game.