Examples Of Exaggeration In Huckleberry Finn

Although both authors use understatement to make death sound all right, they also use exaggeration in their literary texts. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck was caught in a dilemma where he wasn’t sure if he should write to Miss Watson telling her that Jim has been caught by Tom’s uncle but after throwing his letter away, he says, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” (214) Miss Watson told him at the beginning of the novel that he’d go to hell if he did not follow the strictness and the rules. After deciding to save Jim from slavery, he says he’d go to hell for Jim. This is an exaggeration because, helping save someone from slavery is not going to get someone sent to hell. He is just consumed with a bunch of emotions at that time which is causing

Twain uses this exaggeration to evokes relief yet disappointment. This is said because the readers feel reassured that Huck won’t tell Miss Watson about where Jim is therefore, Jim still having a chance to reunite with his family in the future. If Huck had told Miss Watson where Jim was, Jim would have been caught and sent to slavery so the readers feel relaxed once they know Huck won’t turn Jim in.The readers also feel disappointment because he believes that doing the right thing, which is helping Jim escape slavery, will get him sent to hell. The readers know he is doing the right thing and through this exaggeration, it shows that he believes he’s doing the wrong thing by helping Jim. In Death of a Salesman, when Bernard, the neighbor, would come yelling at Biff to study math with him, Willy said, “That’s just what I mean, Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets

You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. "Willy Loman is here!" That’s all they have to know and I go right through.” (21) This quote shows how Willy exaggerated how being well-liked and good looking would get people further in life. Although Bernard was a hard working student, Willy still believed his son, Biff, who failed math and never studied, would be five times more successful than Bernard. The readers know that being successful only comes with hard work, therefore creating humour. This was used to satirize people who did nothing to achieve their goals yet expected to obtain positive results. With exaggeration, Miller successfully shows how people expected to obtain success without working for it but instead waited for it. This is funny because everyone knows that hard work guarantees success, whereas being good looking and well-liked doesn’t get someone very far. As Willy is making fun of Bernard, a hardworking student, he doesn’t realize what he’s saying is false. While Twain evokes relief yet disappointment, Miller brings out humour with the help of exaggeration. By creating a little humour, exaggeration was a successful technique to use for both these authors to convey their point of