"Special Topics" Post 4a

Vocabulary:
macumbaed (161): not in the dictionary, but inferred as searched or flowed
catatonic (164): a syndrome seen most frequently in schizophrenia, characterized by muscular rigidity and mental stupor, sometimes alternating with great excitement and confusion

Figurative language:
Simile: "Maybe because I was a little drunk and my thoughts moved slowly like blobs in a lava lamp.." (163). This simile helps the reader visualize how Blue must feel her thoughts are moving, as well as get a sense of how disoriented she must be, from the difference to her usual quick and observant nature.
Personification: "so many shrieks and laughs, the moon, a sickle stabbing the pine trees off to the right-it all fused together into a strange suffocating violence" (163). This personification shows the oddly violent mood that Blue is in, both in her comparison of the moon to a sickle and the image of it stabbing the trees.
Metaphor: "Laugh lines parenthesized his mouth" (162). Like all of the other literary devices mentioned here, this figurative language helps the reader better picture the situation described; one can visualized Smoke's face more than if the author had stated "laugh lines were in the corners of his mouth".

Quote:
"There was the skid of her eyes, a brief suspension of smile, a catch, a soft sweater snagging a tree branch. All Nigel and I could do now was stand with lousy smiles safety-pinned to our faces like HELLO MY NAME IS name tags" (161). I think that this passage really shows the skill of Pessl's writing: the way in which she is able to add so much figurative language (the whole book is filled with it, and references) yet not make it feel weighed down. She accurately conveys Blue's voice in this manner, by combining this more formal style with true wit by Blue.

Theme
Don't let your conscience haunt you; move on from the past.