The Use of Personification in “Flight” by John Steinbeck

Personification in “Flight” by John Steinbeck

In the excerpt from “Flight” by John Steinbeck, several lines contain personification, adding depth and vividness to the description of the landscape. Personification is a literary device where non-human entities are given human-like qualities or characteristics.

The lines in the excerpt from “Flight” by John Steinbeck that contain personification describe farm buildings “huddled like clinging aphids,” ferns with “five-fingered” hands, and mountain wind “sighing.” These personifications add vividness and life to the description of the landscape.

The lines in this excerpt from “Flight” by John Steinbeck that contain personification are:

1. “The farm buildings huddled like the clinging aphids on the mountain skirts…”
2. “Five-fingered ferns hung over the water and dropped spray from their fingertips…”
3. “The high mountain wind coasted sighing through the pass and whistled on the edges of the big blocks of broken granite…”

In these lines, the author attributes human-like qualities to non-human entities. The farm buildings are described as “huddled,” suggesting a posture reminiscent of living beings. The use of “clinging aphids” personifies the buildings, giving them an insect-like quality. Similarly, the ferns are anthropomorphized as having “fingertips” from which they “dropped spray,” imbuing them with human characteristics. The mountain wind is described as “sighing,” a human-like action, and “whistling,” another anthropomorphic attribute.

These personifications enhance the vividness of the description, creating a sense of life and movement in the inanimate elements of the landscape, contributing to the overall atmospheric quality of the passage.

Which lines in this excerpt from “Flight” by John Steinbeck contain personification?

The lines in the excerpt from "Flight" by John Steinbeck containing personification describe farm buildings "huddled like clinging aphids," ferns with "five-fingered" hands, and mountain wind "sighing."