Final answer:
Figurative language enables an author to convey complex ideas and evoke emotions through comparisons, enhancing understanding and engagement. The analysis of metaphors and similes can reveal deeper meanings in the text. In literature, symbolism and imagery help readers connect with the narrative on a more profound level.
Step-by-step explanation:
The use of figurative language in literature serves as a powerful tool to convey deeper meanings, emotions, and vivid imagery. By analyzing a metaphor or simile, we can uncover the abstract or complex ideas an author wishes to express through more tangible comparisons.
For instance, the metaphor 'My love, you are a rose' encapsulates beauty, fragility, and the potential pain of love's thorns in one succinct phrase; it communicates layers of meaning beyond the literal words.
Similarly, when Twain describes himself as climbing the wheel 'like a squirrel,' he enhances the scene with a simile that evokes a sense of frantic, erratic movement, heightening the tension and allowing readers to visually and emotionally connect with the experience.
Analyzing the stylistic choices an author makes, such as their use of similes, metaphors, personification, or hyperbole, helps us to understand the tone, mood, and theme of a text more clearly. Imagery and symbolism are also key elements that authors leverage to convey messages and engage the reader's senses, causing the narrative to resonate on a deeper level.
Therefore, Christopher's use of figurative language assists in communicating more precisely, by offering readers insights that might otherwise be missed if the language were purely literal.