The Dollmaker Metaphors and Similes

The Dollmaker Metaphors and Similes

The shelf of sandstone

The imagery of the shelf of sandstone is enhanced via the employment of a simile. The small size of the shelf of sandstone is emphasized via its comparison to a little porch. The narrator notes: "A few feet up the road was a smooth wide shelf of sandstone like a little porch hung above the valley."

The hills, as seen through the fog

The appearance of the hills through the fog is presented as quite vast and mysterious. As if the fog magnifies the hills' appearance, the narrator uses a simile to emphasize the hill's extensive appearance through the fog, comparing them to mountains. The narrator notes: "…the low hills, seen through the fog, seemed vast and mysterious, like mountains rising into the clouds." The extensive appearance of the hills is thus emphasized.

The long front legs holding the little plank house

The length of the poles holding the little plank house is made explicit through a simile. The imagery of the 'legs' as stilts is enhanced as the narrator notes: "Held up against the hillside on long front legs like stilts was a little plank house with a tar-paper roof."

The darkness

The darkness as it engulfs the narrator's environs is made conceivable through the employment of a simile. The narrator notes: "After a little space of level road, they were going down again, and the rainy autumn dark came swiftly down like a settling bird." The imagery of the darkness settling is thus enhanced through the simile, which enhances familiarity making the comparison more appealing.

The imagery of the early sunshine

The imagery of the early sunshine is made prominent through the narrator's employment of a simile: "…when the early sunshine fell like a curtain by the southern windows, not falling through but making a brightness in the room…" The image of the sun's rays as they pierce through the southern windows is thus enhanced.

Gertie's buttonholes

"Her mother often pointed out that her buttonholes looked like pigs' eyes."

Through the use of this simile, the appearance of the buttonholes made by Gertie is enhanced. The simile, therefore, facilitates imagery while also alluding to the buttonhole's tiny nature.

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