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We found out in the previous example what a narrative is and what its parts are made of.
This checkpoint will talk about figurative language in a narrative text. Why? Narrative text contains figurative language and that is different from literal language. Figurative language usually means something else than what is said so it's important we don't treat it as literal as doing so would lead to the wrong answer.
There are different types of figurative language that occur in narratives (and why they cannot be interpreted as literal!) such as:
Similes – relating something 'like' something else.
Metaphors – relating something as something else.
Hyperbole – over exaggeration.
Personification – giving 'things' characteristics of humans.
In narrative texts, it is likely that the types of literal questions that will be tested are:
Let's look at these types of questions in the illustrated example below.
We'll also put into practice the approach to answering questions too.
TOBY
This is part of a short story about a child's first knowledge of death when his best friend Mr. Sawcombe dies.
After tea Toby's father came home from the office, and they watched football together on television, and then Toby went upstairs to have a bath.
He got out of the bath, put on his pyjamas and dressing gown, and went down the passage that led to her flat. He knocked at the door and she called "Come in," and it was like going into another world, because her furniture and curtains and things were so different to those in the rest of the house. No other person had so many photographs and ornaments, he found his Granny, knitting. As well, she had a book on her knee. She had a television but she didn't enjoy it too much. She preferred to read, and Toby always thought of her deep in some book or other. But whenever he interrupted her, she would place a leather bookmark between the pages, close the book, and lay it aside so as to give him her undivided attention.
"Hello, Toby."
"What have you been doing today?"
He pulled up a stool and sat down to tell her. He told get about Mr. Sawcombe, but she already knew. He told her about Willie making a coffin for Mr. Sawcombe.
"Were you in love when you married Grandpa?"
"I think I was. It's so long ago that sometimes I forget."
"Did you …" He hesitated, but he had to know, and Granny was a person who never minded awkward questions. "When he died … did you miss him very much?"
"Why do you ask that? Are you missing Mr. Sawcombe?"
"Yes. All day. All day I've been missing him."
"It'll get better. The missing bit will get better and then you'll only remember the good times."
"Is that how it was with you and Grandpa?"
"I think so. Yes."
"Is it very frightening to die?"
"I don't know." She smiled, her familiar smile, amused and gamine, that was so surprising in that old and wrinkled face. "I've never done it."
"But…" He looked intently into her eyes. Nobody could live forever. "But aren't you frightened?"
Granny leaned forward to take Toby's hand into her own. "You know," she said, "I've always thought that each person's life is like a mountain. And each person has to climb that mountain alone. To begin with, you start in the valley, and it's warm and sunny, and there are lots of meadows and little streams, and buttercups and things. That's when you're a child. And then you start to climb. Slowly, the mountain becomes a little steeper and the going isn't so easy, but if you stop every now and then and look about you, then the wonderful views are worth every bit of effort. And the very top of the mountain, the peak, where the snow and the ice glitter in the sunshine and it is all beautiful beyond belief, why, that is the summit, the great achievement, the end of the long journey." She made it sound magnificent. He said, full of love for her, "I don't want you to die."
Granny laughed. "Oh, my darling, don't worry about that. I'm going to be around, being a nuisance to you all, for a long time yet. And now, why don't we each have a peppermint cream, and then a game of clock patience? How nice that you came to see me I was beginning to be a little tired of my own company…."
1 When Toby gets into his grandmother's room he notices that
A it has different decorations and it is full of memories.
B her furniture and curtains are old.
C it is in a distant part of the house.
D he does not visit her often.
2 The passage suggests that Toby's grandmother has a book on her knee because she is
A a talkative person.
B busy with her weave.
C usually reading a book.
D collecting things.
3 Toby's grandmother suggests that Toby will relieve his pain by
A recalling good times.
B letting time go by.
C clearing his mind.
D being satisfied with good memories.
4 The second last paragraph describes the similitude between a journey to the top of a mountain and
A the troubles a person faces in life.
B the advantages of being young.
C the remembrance of an aged person.
D the process of growing up, aging and die.
5 The passage suggests that Toby and his grandmother
A have a very close relationship.
B do not talk often.
C talk about the same topic frequently.
D read books together.
Source: Rosamunde Pilcher: "Toby" in The Blue Bedroom & Other Stories, St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1990
Key Rules to remember:
4 types of figurative language
The main types of questions testing figurative language relate to detail question on figurative statements which test your ability to 'read through the lines'.
Now it's time to do your assignment.